Abstract
Recent studies suggest that chronic pain affects millions and carries significant physical, financial, and social burdens, and thus adversely affects quality of life (QOL). Cognitive behavioral therapy for chronic pain (CBTp) is a non-pharmacological treatment method which has been shown to reduce a sufferer’s experience of chronic pain and improve overall QOL. These and other studies also indicate that affective symptoms likely impact the effectiveness of CBTp. The current study focused on the effects of depressive symptoms on changes in QOL ratings across a 12-session CBT for chronic pain. Participants in this study (n = 313; mean age = 46.83 years, SD = 10.99, range = 19.1–79.9, 63.9% female, 83.9% Caucasian) were current patients of a mid-sized tertiary multidisciplinary outpatient chronic pain treatment facility. Progress through CBTp was assessed using QOL as a dependent variable and analyzed using RMANOVAs. All participants showed improvements in QOL ratings across the CBTp period, but greater improvements were seen in participants in the low depression category than in the high or moderate depression category. This study also confirms the clinical utility of the BDI-II with chronic pain patients.
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Justin M. Hughes is a Master’s Candidate at The University of Alabama in Huntsville. Eric A. Seemann is a tenured Associate Professor at The University of Alabama in Huntsville and Director of Research at Covenant Pain Therapies Center. J. Michael George is the Director of Behavioral Sciences at Covenant Pain Therapies Center. K. Dean Willis is the Clinic Director at Covenant Pain Therapies Center.
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All procedures were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committees and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.
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Hughes, J.M., Seemann, E.A., George, J.M. et al. The Effects of Pre-treatment Depressive Symptoms on Quality of Life Across Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Chronic Pain. J Clin Psychol Med Settings 26, 97–105 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10880-018-9568-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10880-018-9568-5