Does Change Occur for the Reasons We Think It Does? A Test of Specific Therapeutic Operations During Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment of Chronic Pain.

Burns JW, Nielson WR, Jensen MP, Heapy A, Czlapinski R, Kerns RD. Does Change Occur for the Reasons We Think It Does? A Test of Specific Therapeutic Operations During Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment of Chronic Pain. The Clinical Journal of Pain. 2015 Jul 1; 31(7):603-11.

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Abstract:

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relative validity of 2 conceptual models-Specific, General-by which therapeutic mechanisms in cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for chronic pain achieve favorable outcomes. METHODS: As part of a clinical trial of enhanced versus standard CBT, people with chronic pain received treatment consisting of 3 pain coping skill modules. In secondary analyses of a subsample (n = 56), we examined pretreatment to session 4 (of 10 sessions) changes in Chronic Pain Coping Inventory subscales that corresponded to receipt of one of 3 modules; namely Relaxation, Exercise, and Cognitive Coping modules. RESULTS: Findings indicated that: (1) participants receiving the Relaxation module improved more than other groups in relaxation skills, and improved substantially on other coping skills, as well; (2) participants receiving Exercise and Cognitive Coping modules showed mixed improvements and did not improve more than other groups on exercise use or cognitive coping, respectively; and (3) measures of patient-therapist working alliance and patient expectations of treatment benefit at session three correlated significantly with some coping skills changes. DISCUSSION: Change with CBT may occur both by theory-specified mechanisms and general mechanisms. However, the results provide the most support for a General Mechanism model in which changes on coping skills have spreading effects on the use of other coping skills. Significant relationships between some skill changes and indexes of patient-therapist working alliance and outcome expectations suggest that nonspecific factors also play a role in treatment-related changes in the use of pain coping strategies.