NCT05837650

Emotional Awareness and Expression Therapy (EAET) as a Novel Migraine Treatment

Feasibility and Preliminary Efficacy of Emotional Awareness and Expression Therapy (EAET) as a Novel Migraine Treatment - Randomized Controlled Pilot Study

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 30 (actual)
• Sponsor: University of Utah · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 80 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

This study tests the effect of a new behavioral intervention, Emotional Awareness and Expression Therapy (EAET), as a possible new treatment for people living with migraine. The main questions it aims to answer are: Can EAET lower the frequency and severity of migraine attacks? What are the elements that can explain EAET's effect? Requirements from Participants: Participants will be randomized into either a treatment or control arms. Those who are assigned to the control arm are eligible to receive the treatment in the next cohort. Participants assigned to the treatment arms are expected to engage in 8 weekly online sessions via Zoom (sessions are 2 hours long). Each session has a lecture, in-class exercises, discussion, and weekly assignments. Each participant is required to fill out questionnaires before the first session, and after the last session of the treatment. Participants will benefit from a new and promising intervention that can significantly help with their migraines at no cost.

Detailed description

Migraine is a debilitating disorder that affects many people worldwide. Despite the new migraine medications and the recommended complementary interventions for migraine, most people living with migraine are not migraine-free and continue to experience debilitating headaches. Chronic stress and past traumatic experiences are known to contribute to the development of migraine and to the transition from episodic to chronic migraine. Although current behavioral interventions focus on "calming down" the body and mind, a different approach is to help individuals identify and express difficult emotions, release emotionally difficult experiences, and acquire new skills to help manage interpersonal relationships. Emotional Awareness and Expression Therapy (EAET) is a new intervention that focuses on this approach and has shown promising results in patients with different chronic pain conditions. In this research, the investigators will test how effective EAET is in people living with migraine.

Conditions

• Migraine Disorders

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Emotional Awareness and Expression Therapy (EAET)	Each EAET session will use an educational lecture, discussion, in-class experiential exercises, and homework assignments. During sessions, participants will be encouraged to identify their stressors and experience and express their avoided or suppressed emotions, using exercises such as emotional disclosure, role playing, and the "empty chair" technique. Participants will be given homework assignments to complete between sessions, including expressive writing, identification of stressors and avoided emotions, and healthy communication skills practice. The planned topics of the EAET sessions include the emotions-stress-pain model, expressing and experiencing emotions (anger, sadness, hurt, etc.), letting go/forgiveness of self and others, and healthy communication, including assertiveness and intimacy.

Timeline

• Start date: 2023-04-01
• Primary completion: 2025-03-31
• Completion: 2025-03-31
• First posted: 2023-05-01
• Last updated: 2025-11-26

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States