A new type of psychotherapy appears effective at treating chronic pain Veterans who underwent emotional awareness and expression therapy had less pain It outperformed cognitive behavioral therapy FRIDAY, June 14, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- A new form of psychotherapy appears to work even better at treating in older adults than gold-standard cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), a new study finds. U.S.
veterans who received emotional awareness and expression therapy (EAET) experienced a longer and more significant reduction in chronic pain than those who underwent CBT, researchers reported June 13 in the journal About 63% of veterans who underwent EAET reported at least a 30% reduction in pain, which is considered clinically significant, results show. By comparison, only 17% of veterans who got CBT achieved that sort of pain relief. Further, pain reduction was sustained among 41% of EAET participants six months after treatment, compared to 14% of CBT patients.
EAET patients also reported greater benefits for addressing anxiety, depression, PTSD and life satisfaction, researchers added. “Most people with chronic pain don't consider psychotherapy at all. They're thinking along the lines of medications, injections, sometimes surgery or bodily treatments like physical therapy,” said lead researcher , an assistant professor at UCLA Health’s Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences.
“Psychotherapy is an evidence-based treatment for chronic pain,” Yarns added in a UC.