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Acceptance and commitment therapy for chronic pain: A systematic review

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 August 2021

S. Freitas Ramos  and
A. Dias
S. Freitas Ramos*
Affiliation:
Department Of Psychiatry And Mental Health, Local Health Unit of Guarda, Guarda, Portugal
A. Dias
Affiliation:
Department Of Anesthesiology, Hospital Center Tâmega e Sousa, Penafiel, Portugal
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

Chronic pain is common, costly, and associated with significant disability and negative effects on well-being and mental health. The treatment is challenging, requiring a multidisciplinary approach. Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) aims to help patients in engaging in a flexible and persistent pattern of values-directed behavior while in contact with continuing pain and discomfort.

Objectives

To provide an updated review on the efficacy of ACT for the management of chronic pain.

Methods

We conducted a systematic review based on the PubMed® and EBSCO databases up to April 2020.

Results

Fifteen trials were included. The results were in favour of ACT in pain acceptance, functioning and pain intensity with small to large effect sizes. Few studies evaluated quality of life, but half of those were favourable to ACT. We also focused our analysis on ACT online interventions, considering the current demands due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Conclusions

The current systematic review points in favour of ACT for the management of chronic pain conditions, though the studies included suffered from methodological limitations, which may have led to overestimated effects. Methodologically robust trials are required to further understand the clinical efficacy of ACT for chronic pain and which patients most benefit from this intervention.

Keywords

ACTChronic Pain
Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 64 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 29th European Congress of Psychiatry , April 2021 , pp. S437
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
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