Brief cognitive analytic therapy for adults with chronic pain: a preliminary evaluation of treatment outcome

Abstract

Background: Cognitive analytic therapy (CAT) has diversified in its application to a broad range of presenting difficulties and formats and there has been growing interest in its use in clinical health settings including Pain Management Services. Despite its growing popularity, to date, no studies have examined the application of CAT for chronic pain. Aims: The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of time-limited, individual CAT for adults with chronic pain as delivered in a publicly funded Community Pain Management Service. Methods: This was an observational service evaluation of treatment practice within a routine clinical setting. Participants were 53 adults with chronic pain who completed eight sessions of individual therapy. Individual and group-level outcomes on self-reported distress, pain-related self-efficacy, as well as changes in healthcare utilisation pre- and post-intervention were examined. Results: Large pre–post effects on wellbeing ( d = 1.50) and self-efficacy ( d = 1.13) were observed, while effects on healthcare utilisation were medium to large ( d = 0.67). Moreover, reliable change and clinical significance analyses demonstrated that results were clinically meaningful. The majority of clients (67.9%) showed reliable improvement following the CAT intervention and 28% achieved both reliable and clinically significant improvements in psychological distress. Approximately 4 of 10 clients (43.5%) showed reliably higher perceived self-efficacy at the end of therapy. Conclusion: The results of this evaluation suggest that brief CAT is an encouraging intervention for adults with persistent pain. While preliminary, our findings provide support for a brief approach to persistent pain that focuses not on controlling or eliminating pain but on elucidating and revising unhelpful relational patterns that may impinge upon one’s pain management. Directions for future research are suggested.

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