Interoceptive Exposure as a Treatment Option for Disabling Fear of Pain

University of Leeds

Status: Unknown

Conditions: Chronic Pain

Treatments: Behavioral: Interoceptive Exposure

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03523637

IRAS Project ID: 226054 (Other Identifier)

PY18/100386

Details and patient eligibility

About

The aim of this study is to investigate the use of Interoceptive Exposure (IE) in treatment of disabling fear of pain using a single-case series design.

Full description

The intervention Interoceptive Exposure (IE) is an exposure to bodily sensations used in treatment of variety of problems where body sensations are experienced as threatening. The application of IE is expected to reduce the threat value of pain and subsequently promote recovery. This study will evaluate the effects of IE and will briefly comprises of: education session explaining the rationale behind IE practice, teaching of the technique, supervised IE practice and self-monitored home practice twice daily for the period of two weeks. Depending on the length of baseline (i.e. observation period before the start of intervention) the study will last between 6 and 8 weeks. Daily Diary, a short nine item instrument was designed to measure the pain experience (intensity and interference) and fear of pain on a daily basis. Other, standard outcome measures include: pain related anxiety, pain catastrophising, pain related disability, knowledge about pain and general anxiety and depression. Study participants will be recruited during routine psychology screening assessment at the Pain Clinic at St James' Hospital. This study will recruit from clinical psychology waiting list patients.

Enrollment: 8 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Presence of chronic pain (i.e. pain present for minimum of 3 months following tissue damage)
• 18 years or older
• Capacity to give informed consent
• Appropriate diagnostic investigations in other specialties as appropriate have been exhausted and first line interventions, like analgesia, have been tried.
• Participant has appropriate expectations regarding psychological treatment, i.e. does not expect injections etc.

Exclusion criteria

• Insufficient understanding of English or additional needs which mean the potential participant is unable to complete questionnaires independently. This is because the research project does not have the resources to make significant adaptations to the materials i.e. translation into another language or into Braille.
• Unable to meet the demands of the study (i.e. daily recording of data, daily practice of IE, coming for sessions to St James' Hospital).

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: N/A

Interventional model: Single Group Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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8 participants in 1 patient group

Pain Education/Interoceptive Exposure

Experimental group

Description:

This study will evaluate the effects of IE and will briefly comprises of: education session explaining the rationale behind IE practice, teaching of the technique, supervised IE practice and self-monitored home practice twice daily for the period of two weeks.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Interoceptive Exposure