Psychological Treatment Targeting Acceptance and Compassion in Chronic Pain Patients
Condition: Chronic Pain; Self-Criticism
MeSH terms: Chronic Pain
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      This trial is a randomized controlled study aiming to investigate the effect of an 8-week
      internet-based intervention focused on acceptance and compassion or a wait-list control
      group. Primary treatments outcomes are Chronic Pain Acceptance Questionnaire (CPAQ),
      Self-Compassion Scale (SCS) and Pain Disability index (PDI). Secondary outcomes were
      Montgomery Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS-S), Anxiety sensitivity index (ASI), Quality
      of Life Inventory (QOLI), Multidimensional Pain Inventory (MPI) and Perseverative Thinking
      Questionnaire (PTQ). A six month follow-up was conducted. Findings showed significantly
      greater levels of acceptance (CPAQ), self-compassion (SCS) and reduction in activity
      limitation (PDI) measured with the primary outcomes for the treatment group after the
      intervention with effect sizes raging from small to moderate and these results were
      maintained at six-month follow-up.
    

Detailed description: 
      The purpose of this study was to explore if a psychological treatment fusing ACT and CFT
      principles and therapeutic techniques could improve outcome in chronic pain patients with
      high levels of self-criticism in comparison to a wait-list control group. The treatment was
      delivered via the internet, guided by trained professional. Internet delivered cognitive
      behavior therapy (CBT) and ACT treatments have shown similar efficacy as compared to
      face-to-face treatments in a variety of problem areas and across a large range of outcomes.
      Participants were recruited from a clinical setting. The treatment program consisted of eight
      sections and was based on a manual based on ACT developed for chronic pain (Buhrman et al.,
      2013) and a CFT-manual for chronic pain.

      Following a screening interview participants deemed eligible were asked to complete an
      assessment battery online. All correspondence concerning treatment was held through a web
      portal including the online questionnaires and a secure e-mail service. The system handled
      security issues with two factor authentication. The participants logged in with electronic
      identification which is a secure service used by banks and in clinical settings.

      Measures were obtained pre- and post- intervention and administered via the internet. A sixth
      month follow-up of the treatment group was administered. Mediation measures were also
      obtained.
    

Intervention name(s): Internet-Delivered ACT and CFT
Intervention type(s): Behavioral
Intervention description(s): An 8-week internet-based intervention focused on acceptance and compassion. Psychological intervention based on Acceptance and commitment therapy and compassion focused therapy
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Treatment
Keywords: Chronic pain; Self-criticism; Internet-based treatment; ACT; CFT; Guided self-help; Acceptance; Compassion