RECRUITING

Comparing Single-Session Therapies for Chronic Pain

Study Overview

This clinical trial focuses on testing the efficacy of different digital interventions to promote re-engagement in cancer-related long-term follow-up care for adolescent and young adult (AYA) survivors of childhood cancer.

Description

Many people in the US suffer from chronic pain. Often times, individuals who have chronic pain also feel depressed, anxious, or hopeless, which can worsen pain. Psychologists, therefore, have developed several treatments to help people with chronic pain. These psychological treatments differ. The most common treatment is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for chronic pain, which helps patients better manage pain through changing thoughts and behaviors. Two newer, less common psychological therapies are Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT) and Emotion Awareness and Expression Therapy (EAET). These therapies emphasize that chronic pain is mainly due to plastic processes of over-sensitization in the brain and nervous system, and that psychotherapies can significantly reduce or eliminate pain. Although similar, PRT and EAET stress different aspects of treatment. PRT emphasizes that one's fear of pain and bodily injury maintains the brain's sense of threat, thereby also maintaining the pain response; EAET emphasizes that one's conditioned psychological state of stress and tension maintains a sense of threat, thereby maintaining the pain response. These three treatments have yet to be compared; it is unclear which psychological processes are most important to treating chronic pain. There is growing interest in single-session psychotherapy interventions. Studies have shown that just a single session of CBT or EAET can help individuals reduce their pain. PRT has yet to be condensed to a single-session intervention. This study will compare a single session of CBT, PRT, and EAET with a no-treatment control group to test whether 1) one treatment outperforms the others, and 2) different mechanisms/ approaches matter to chronic pain treatment.

Official Title

Comparing a Single-Session of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Pain Reprocessing Therapy, and Emotion Awareness and Expression Therapy for Chronic Pain

Quick Facts

Study Start:2025-07-15
Study Completion:2026-08
Study Type:Not specified
Phase:Not Applicable
Enrollment:Not specified
Status:RECRUITING

Study ID

NCT07008105

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Ages Eligible for Study:18 Years
Sexes Eligible for Study:ALL
Accepts Healthy Volunteers:No
Standard Ages:ADULT, OLDER_ADULT
Inclusion CriteriaExclusion Criteria
  1. * Pain for at least 3 months and experienced 4 or more days/week for the past 6 months
  2. * Pain intensity last week is \>= 3 (0 to 10 rating scale)
  3. * Pain interference last week is \>= 3 (0 to 10 rating scale)
  4. * At least age 18
  5. * Lives in United States
  6. * Fluent in English
  7. * Has personal computer/tablet and internet access
  8. * Able to attend one 90-minute session
  9. * Willing to be randomized
  10. * Seeking to improve their pain-related status via a psychological therapy
  1. * Past 2 years (treated for or having experienced):
  2. * Complex regional pain syndrome
  3. * Epilepsy/seizure disorder
  4. * Autoimmune disease
  5. * Liver disease
  6. * Cancer
  7. * Heart disease
  8. * Substance dependence or use disorder
  9. * Schizophrenia or other psychotic disorder
  10. * Bipolar disorder
  11. * Obsessive-compulsive disorder
  12. * Borderline personality disorder
  13. * Suicide attempt or suicide intention or impulse
  14. * Major medical procedure scheduled within next 2 months
  15. * Applied for/ litigating for pain-related disability/worker's compensation (past year).
  16. * Major life event/stressor in past 6 months
  17. * Cognitive impairment (screener score \<=4)

Contacts and Locations

Study Contact

Mark A Lumley, PhD
CONTACT
313-577-2247
mlumley@wayne.edu
Marjorie Heule, MS
CONTACT
mheule@wayne.edu

Study Locations (Sites)

Rush University Medical Center
Chicago, Illinois, 60612
United States
Wayne State University
Detroit, Michigan, 48202
United States

Collaborators and Investigators

Sponsor: Mark A. Lumley

Study Record Dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Registration Dates

Study Start Date2025-07-15
Study Completion Date2026-08

Study Record Updates

Study Start Date2025-07-15
Study Completion Date2026-08

Terms related to this study

Keywords Provided by Researchers

  • Chronic pain
  • behavioral treatment
  • CBT
  • EAET
  • PRT

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

  • Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain