Emotional Expression Benefits Chronic Pain
A therapeutic intervention involving confronting and expressing emotional and traumatic experiences shows greater improvement in fibromyalgia pain. When compared with conventional cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), randomized trial results show. It was also linked to significant pain reductions when offered as a one-time intervention in the primary care setting, researchers report. "Current evidence-based psychological interventions for fibromyalgia, such as CBT, are relatively weak. We believe, because they do not help patients disclose, target, and resolve their conflicted emotional experiences," senior author Mark Lumley, PhD, professor of psychology at Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, told Medscape Medical News. "We have demonstrated, however, that…