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Implementing an acceptance and commitment therapy group protocol with veterans using VA’s stepped care model of pain management

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Abstract

The purpose of the current study was to replicate and extend previous findings; further demonstrating the effectiveness of an ACT outpatient, group-based treatment for Veterans who suffer from mixed idiopathic, chronic, non-cancer pain. This course of treatment utilized the VA’s Stepped Care Model of Pain Management as a framework. A sample of 50 Veterans who participated in an ACT for chronic pain group intervention was evaluated after completing a pain health education program at a Midwestern VA Medical Center between February 16, 2010 and November 9, 2010. All participants completed a standard set of pre- and post-intervention measures. Paired-samples t tests were conducted to evaluate the impact of the manualized intervention on Veterans’ scores. The current study found a significant difference in measures of pain interference, illness-focused coping, and global distress upon completion of the intervention. Findings suggest that ACT is an effective treatment for Veterans with chronic pain as a secondary consultative service.

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Acknowledgments

This study was part of a government employment. The author would like to thank all the Veterans and trainee therapists/supervisors who made this research possible, especially Josh Greco, Genna Popovich-Hymowitz, Scott Sperling, and Susan Payvar. The author would also like to thank the staff members at the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center Psychology and Pain Management departments for their vision and ongoing support of the pain psychology training program.

Conflict of interest

David Cosio and Tracy Schafer declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. A wavier of informed consent was submitted because the current investigation is an archival study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Anesthesiology/Pain Clinic #124, Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA

    David Cosio

  2. Home-Based Primary Care, Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA

    Tracy Schafer

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  1. David Cosio
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  2. Tracy Schafer
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Correspondence to David Cosio.

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Cosio, D., Schafer, T. Implementing an acceptance and commitment therapy group protocol with veterans using VA’s stepped care model of pain management. J Behav Med 38, 984–997 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-015-9647-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-015-9647-0

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