Systematic Review of the Comparative Effectiveness of Cognitive-Behavioural Therapies for Chronic Pain
Künye
Başak, İ. N. C. E. (2020). Systematic Review of the Comparative Effectiveness of Cognitive-Behavioural Therapies for Chronic Pain. Journal of Cognitive-Behavioral Psychotherapy and Research, 9(3), 248-248.Özet
Despite the shown effectiveness of Cognitive-Behavioural Therapies (CBT) for chronic pain, it is not
clear which CBT approach is more effective and which components or combinations of CBT account
for a better treatment outcome. In this regard, this study aimed to systematically review the studies
investigating the effectiveness of all forms of CBT for the treatment of individuals with chronic pain.
For this purpose, randomised controlled clinical trials on adults with chronic pain published between the
years of 2006 and 2016 have been searched in the Google Scholar, Web of Science and EBSCO databases
by using the keywords “chronic pain”, “pain disorders”, “cognitive behavioural therapy” or “treatment”.
Following database search, 24 trials were identified based on the eligibility criteria. Primary outcomes
were demonstrated to be pain intensity, disability, self-efficacy, and pain control, whereas secondary
outcomes were related to emotional difficulties. In terms of comparative effectiveness, findings revealed
that all forms of CBT are significantly more effective than physical treatments, particularly for emotional
problems. However, no statistically significant differences were found for the comparison of traditional
CBT and mindfulness and acceptance-based treatments. Findings further underlined that some forms of
CBT appeared to produce greater improvements in some of the outcome measures. Findings of this review
emphasise that what is in fact responsible for the positive outcome while delivering CBT for chronic pain
is still not clear. Thus, future research should focus on identifying specific components and underlying
mechanisms of CBT in order to maximize treatment outcome.