A New Approach in Chronic Pain; Acceptance & Commitment Therapy-Exposure & Perspective Taking (ACT-EPT)
CompletedNot applicableNCT03481504
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This study has no listed site in Canada in this snapshot. It is included as part of the worldwide chronic pain corpus.
Brief summary (from the registry)
Background: Chronic pain is a highly prevalent phenomenon with a large impact on the individual's wellbeing. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) can be used to help patients relate to chronic pain in a way that helps improve their quality of life. This paper introduces an ACT protocol specific to chronic pain patients: ACT- Exposure and Perspective Taking (ACT-EPT). Aspects specific to this therapy are the focus on exposure as a means to elicit behavioural and emotional change regarding pain experience and it's format as a compact individual therapy. Objectives: Investigators conduct a single case experimental study (ABA design) with a multiple baseline design, aimed at assessing the effectiveness of the experimental ACT-EPT protocol (phase B) compared to usual care (phase A) in individual chronic pain patients. Outcomes include the increase of participation in daily life and health related quality of life, measured with the Short Form-12 (SF-12). Quantitative results will be combined with qualitative results from interviews in a mixed methods design. Participants: Five adults with chronic pain referred to a rehabilitation centre (≥18 years old). Methods: Phases A and B together take 16 weeks for each participant, during which weekly quantitative measurements will be taken. The length of the first phase A will be randomised. The intervention (phase B) consists of weekly ACT-EPT sessions with a maximum of 3 sessions of approximately 90 minutes each. Individual interviews will take place after the last quantitative measurements. These focus on two topics: psychological processes of change and evaluating the intervention.
Study details
- Official title
- Study Protocol of a Single Case Methodology Experiement Exploring the Effectiveness and Feasibility of an Exposure-centered ACT Intervention for Chronic Pain Patients: A Pilot Study
- Conditions
- Interventions
- Behavioral: Acceptance & Commitment Therapy-Exposure and Perspective Taking
- Sponsor
- Maastricht University Medical Center
- Start date
- 2018-03-10
- Primary completion
- 2018-12-10
- Sex
- All
- Age range
- from 18 Years
- Results posted
- No results posted in this snapshot
- Countries
- Netherlands
- Total sites listed
- 1
Eligibility criteria
Show eligibility criteria (verbatim from the registry)
Inclusion Criteria: * The patient is diagnosed as having chronic pain, is referred to Winnock Zorg rehabilitation center, location Heerlen or Arnhem, and is registered to receive treatment at Winnock Zorg rehabilitation center; * The patient has pain of the musculoskeletal system * The patient has pain for longer than 6 weeks * The patient is medically stable * The patient has functional limitations * The medical history and examination of the patient do not indicate further somatic diagnostics and treatment * The patient has unwanted psychosocial consequences from the pain, such as in activities of daily life, relationships, work and social role * Social and psychological factors are complex and play an important role in maintaining the pain, as is assessed by a rehabilitation physician expert * The patient shows to have insights in his/her functional limitations, as is assessed by a rehabilitation physician expert * The patient has an active attitude in finding solutions for his/her problem, as is assessed by a rehabilitation physician expert * The assessment of the patient by a rehabilitation physician expert indicates that the patient is open to receive a cognitive therapy for pain management; * The patient is at least 18 years old; Exclusion Criteria: * The patient has a history of diagnosed psychotic illness or manic episode; * The patient has a diagnosed systematic or malignant disease; * The patient has had a form of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in the past; * The patient is using a type of CBT at the moment of the study; * The patient has a reported substance abuse within 6 months before the trial; * The patient has a serious medical condition which can be expected to interfere with participation in the study. * The patient has an inadequate understanding of the written and spoken Dutch language
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov (US National Library of Medicine), snapshot October 2026. Check the registry for current recruiting status. Record: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT03481504