NCT02734992

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy vs Medical Treatment as Usual Wait-list Control for Primary Headache Sufferers

An Innovative Psychosocial Intervention for the Treatment of Chronic Pain Patients and Their Families

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 100 (actual)
• Sponsor: University of Cyprus · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 70 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

Research to date suggests that individuals with headache use avoidance as a way to manage their pain. Despite the wide use of avoidance as a coping mechanism of headache triggers, very little empirical evidence exist to support its effectiveness in headache management. New treatment approaches, such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), emphasize acceptance of headache and valued-living as alternatives to avoidance, have demonstrated preliminary support in helping individuals reduce headache-related disability and improve quality of life. Though, ACT has received empirical support for various chronic pain conditions, very little evidence exists as to its effectiveness for head pain problems. The current study will examine the efficacy of an ACT-based intervention, when added to medical treatment as usual (MTAU) vs. a waitlist control group across time (group differences at 3 months) and time changes for the ACT group at 12-months follow-up, on quality of life and general disability, among headache sufferers.

Detailed description

The main behavioral treatment suggestion today for headache management is the prevention of headaches mostly via avoidance of external and internal headache triggers. Despite the wide use of avoidance in headache management, very little empirical evidence exists to support its effectiveness. Attempts at avoiding headache triggers or other internal private experiences associated with a headache, may increase trigger potency, restrict lifestyle, decrease internal locus of control, and exacerbate and maintain pain perception. New treatment approaches, such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), emphasize acceptance and valued living as alternatives to avoidance. Though ACT is an empirically supported treatment for chronic pain, there is limited evidence for its efficacy for head pain, and this evidence is afflicted with methodological limitations that need to be overcome before making conclusions as to the effectiveness of ACT for headaches. The purpose of the present study is to examine in a Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) whether an ACT-based intervention for headache sufferers, added to Medical Treatment as Usual, decreases disability and improves the quality of life, compared to only Wait List Control (WL). Pre, post and 3-months group changes will be assessed. Patients participating in the ACT group will be monitored for a year period.

Conditions

• Headache

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	ACT+ MTAU	Participants will be randomly assigned to one of the two groups: ACT-based intervention, plus their usual health care or Medical Treatment as Usual only (MTAU). The MTAU group will follow their usual medical treatment (prescribed headache medication). Treatment sessions will be conducted weekly by two co-therapists in groups of approximately 8-10 participants for 1 ½ hour. The control group will receive the ACT intervention following the completion of the 3-months follow-up assessment of the treatment group. Participants in both groups will complete primary and secondary outcome scales, as well as ACT process effects scales at pre, post and 3-months follow-up. The treatment group only will be also assessed at 6 and 12-months follow-up. The ACT protocol and the patients' workbook were developed for the needs of the Algea project (Vasiliou \& Karekla, 2015). Techniques will focus on key ACT processes aiming at promoting psychological flexibility for the head pain experience.
BEHAVIORAL	Waitlist Control +MTAU	Participants in the Waitlist control+ MTAU will not receive any active intervention. Upon completion of the 3 months follow-up assessment of the ACT+MTAU group, participants allocated in the Waitlist control+MTAU will receive the ACT intervention.

Timeline

• Start date: 2014-09-01
• Primary completion: 2015-03-01
• Completion: 2016-12-01
• First posted: 2016-04-12
• Last updated: 2019-07-16

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Cyprus