Trial reportHealth psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association2018
A life-stress, emotional awareness, and expression interview for primary care patients with medically unexplained symptoms: A randomized controlled trial.
Trial report in Health psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05014126 (Online "Pain, Stress & Emotions" Class in Chronic Pain), which is not on this map. Cited by 32 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Online "Pain, Stress & Emotions" Class in Chronic Pain: Single-arm Efficacy Test
Who cites it
32 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Psychological intervention in patients with central sensitization syndromes and comorbid psychosocial trauma: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2025Pooled it
- Behavioural modification interventions for medically unexplained symptoms in primary care: systematic reviews and economic evaluation.Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) · 2020Pooled it
- Emotional Awareness and Expression Therapy vs Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Chronic Pain in Older Veterans: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2024Trial
- Virtual Human-Delivered Interviews for Patients With Chronic Pain: Feasibility, Acceptability, and a Pilot Randomized Trial of Standard Medical, Psychosocial, and Educational Interviews.Psychosomatic medicine · 2023Trial
- Efficacy of a Single-Session "Empowered Relief" Zoom-Delivered Group Intervention for Chronic Pain: Randomized Controlled Trial Conducted During the COVID-19 Pandemic.Journal of medical Internet research · 2021Trial
- The Effects of a Life Stress Emotional Awareness and Expression Interview for Women with Chronic Urogenital Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.) · 2019Trial
- Ambivalence over emotional expression and perceived social constraints as moderators of relaxation training and emotional awareness and expression training for irritable bowel syndrome.General hospital psychiatryTrial
- Patient Perspectives on the Process and Outcome of Group Emotional Awareness and Expression Therapy for Chronic Pain.Journal of clinical psychology in medical settings · 2026Article
- Guided versus unguided internet-administered emotional awareness and expression therapy (I-EAET) for patients with persistent physical symptoms: A randomized trial.Internet interventions · 2026Article
- Single Session Behavioral Interventions for Chronic Pain A Systematic Review and Meta Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.The journal of pain · 2026Review
- To feel is to heal-introduction to Emotional Awareness and Expression Therapy.Schmerz (Berlin, Germany) · 2025Review
- Exploring Emotional Conflicts and Pain Experience in Patients with Non-Specific Chronic Neck Pain: A Qualitative Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Psychophysiologic symptom relief therapy for chronic back pain: hypothesis and trial rationale.Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Internet-delivered emotional awareness and expression therapy for somatic symptom disorder: one year follow-up.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Article
- Emotional Awareness and Expression Interview: Examining Interview Content and Patient Experiences in Two Medical Samples.Journal of clinical psychology in medical settings · 2023Article
- Innovative treatment formats, technologies, and clinician trainings that improve access to behavioral pain treatment for youth and adults.Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Eliciting emotional expressions in psychodynamic psychotherapies using telehealth: a clinical review and single case study using emotional awareness and expression therapy.Psychoanalytic psychotherapy · 2022Article
- "Pain, Stress, and Emotions": Uncontrolled trial of a single-session, telehealth, emotional awareness and expression therapy class for patients with chronic pain.Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- The structural model of cyberchondria based on personality traits, health-related metacognition, cognitive bias, and emotion dysregulation.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2022Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveLifetime trauma, relationship adversities, and emotional conflicts are elevated in primary care patients with medically unexplained symptoms (MUS), and these risk factors likely trigger or exacerbate symptoms. Helping patients disclose stressors, increase awareness and expression of inhibited emotions, and link emotions to physical symptoms may improve health. We developed an emotional awareness and expression interview that targets stressful life experiences and conflicts and then tested its effects on primary care patients with MUS.
methodPatients (N = 75) with MUS were recruited at a family medicine clinic and randomized to an interview condition or treatment-as-usual (TAU) control condition. In a single 90-min interview in the clinic, the interviewer elicited disclosure of the patient's stressors, linked them to the patient's symptom history, and encouraged emotional awareness and expression about unresolved relationship trauma or conflict. At baseline and 6-week follow-up, patients completed self-report measures of their physical and psychological health.
resultsAnalyses of covariance, controlling for baseline symptoms, compared patients in the interview condition with TAU at 6-week follow-up. Compared with TAU, the interview led to significantly lower pain severity, pain interference, sleep problems, and global psychological symptoms.
conclusionsThis study provides preliminary evidence for the value of integrating a disclosure and emotional awareness and expression interview into the primary care setting for patients with MUS. (PsycINFO Database Record
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.