ACT
Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) for chronic pain patients

People experiencing pain visit doctors, take painkillers and accommodate to the pain behaviorally to feel healthy and free of pain as soon as possible. While some people become more active to distract from their pain, others take more rest in the hope of recovery or to prevent worse.
When the pain lasts longer than 3 months, it is labeled chronic pain. Adjustments and measures that proved useful in diminishing acute pain show inadequate for chronic pain. When biomedical possibilities are exhausted, chronic pain patients are often referred to a cognitive behavioral rehabilitation treatment (CBT) focusing on pain management. In this treatment, patients independently learn to deal with the pain and the impact the pain has on their daily functioning as a means to reduce the pain. Although CBT is effective, effect sizes are modest. A substantial number of patients does not profit from CBT, relapses into old behavior or feels disappointed because the pain is still present after treatment.

Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT; spoken as a single word) is a new cognitive behavioral therapy which does not focus on the reduction of pain, but rather on the acceptance of inevitable chronic pain experiences. According to ACT, chronic pain patients are stuck in their fight against the pain. By directing all their efforts to fighting, patients lose track of their life values and retreat from a meaningful life. ACT helps people to relate differently to their pain experiences so they can commit to a meaningful and vital life. In ACT, the focus shifts from pain to a vital life.

In a PhD study on the use of ACT in chronic pain rehabilitation, the aims are to investigate the effectiveness of ACT treatment and the working mechanisms underlying ACT by combining single case experiments with a randomized control trial. In addition, the potential remote implementation of ACT via the Internet and the use of technologies such as activity monitoring and feedback are explored. In the study RRD cooperates with the Department of Psychology & Communication of Health & Risk (PCGR) of the University of Twente. The study started in January 2010 and is conducted by Hester Trompetter (MSc. in psychology) supervised by Dr. Karlein Schreurs (healthcare-psychologist and Associate Professor in Psychology)

Partners involved are: vakgroep Psychologie & Communicatie van Gezondheid & Risico (PCGR); Revalidatiecentrum het Roessingh; Innovatiecentrum Pijnrevalidatie Roessingh; samenwerkende Ontwikkelcentra Pijnrevalidatie and RRD

The project is funded by:

Innovatiecentrum Pijnrevalidatie Roessingh

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