Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and other Approaches to Chronic Pain

You are required to choose ONE of the provided essay topics, then review and critique literature on psychological interventions to treat the diagnosis or presenting problem described in the essay topic. Review no fewer than two, and no more than three, potential interventions.

In answering the question, read the literature to understand which of the interventions is likely to be most effective for your client, including their particular problem and/or symptoms, as well as the setting.

It is essential to reach a conclusion about the most appropriate treatment to recommend for the described client based on their diagnosis/presenting problem and their symptoms.

Critical Essay Topic:

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and other Approaches to Chronic Pain

You are working in a Melbourne-based hospital. Kylie, aged 45, has been receiving treatment for a back injury sustained in a car accident and has been referred to you for support for chronic pain. She has some rigid ideas about the pain, often thinking that she can’t work if she is in pain and that she will never be able to escape her pain. There is an acceptance and commitment therapy group program being run at the hospital. You decide to review the evidence to decide whether it would be worthwhile for Kylie to engage in such a program or whether another psychological approach would be more appropriate for her presenting problem. What intervention would you recommend for Kylie?

Starting Readings:

Du, S., Dong, J., Jin, S., Zhang, H., & Zhang, Y. (2021). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for chronic pain on functioning: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 131, 59-76. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.09.022

Simpson, P. A., Mars, T., & Esteves, J. E. (2017). A systematic review of randomised controlled trials using Acceptance and commitment therapy as an intervention in the management of non- malignant, chronic pain in adults. International Journal of Osteopathic Medicine, 24, 18-31. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijosm.2017.03.001