Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31335641›Full record

Trial reportPain2019

Efficacy of a transdiagnostic emotion-focused exposure treatment for chronic pain patients with comorbid anxiety and depression: a randomized controlled trial.

Katja Boersma, Martin Södermark, Hugo Hesser, Ida K Flink, Björn Gerdle, Steven J Linton

Open access · hybridAbstract readComparative StudyMulticenter StudyRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Pain, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 49 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
49citing papers in PubMed, 6 pooled it
9.9field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

49 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 115 citations in OpenAlex.

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  12. Temporal pathways between alexithymia, psychological distress, and pain: An autoregressive mediation analysis.Health psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Katja BoersmaCenter for Health and Medical Psychology, School of Law, Psychology and Social Work, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden.
Martin SödermarkDepartment of Medical and Health Sciences, Pain and Rehabilitation Centre, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden.
Hugo HesserDepartment of Behavioural Sciences and Learning, Division of Psychology, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden.
Ida K FlinkCenter for Health and Medical Psychology, School of Law, Psychology and Social Work, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden.
Björn GerdleDepartment of Medical and Health Sciences, Pain and Rehabilitation Centre, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden.
Steven J LintonCenter for Health and Medical Psychology, School of Law, Psychology and Social Work, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden.
Linköping University · SEÖrebro University · SE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The comorbidity between chronic pain and emotional problems has proven difficult to address with current treatment options. This study addresses the efficacy of a transdiagnostic emotion-focused exposure treatment ("hybrid") for chronic pain patients with comorbid emotional problems. Adults (n = 115) with chronic musculoskeletal pain and functional and emotional problems were included in a 2-centre, parallel randomized controlled, open-label trial comparing this treatment to an active control condition receiving a guided Internet-delivered pain management treatment based on CBT principles (iCBT). The hybrid treatment (n = 58, 10-16 sessions) integrates exposure in vivo for chronic pain based on the fear-avoidance model with an emotion-regulation approach informed by procedures in Dialectical Behavior Therapy. The iCBT (n = 57; 8 treatment modules) addresses topics such as pain education, coping strategies, relaxation, problem solving, stress, and sleep management using standard CBT techniques. Patient-reported outcomes were assessed before and after treatment as well as at a 9-month primary end point. Across conditions, 78% participants completed post-treatment and 81% follow-up assessment. Intent-to-treat analyses showed that the hybrid had a significantly better post-treatment outcome on pain catastrophizing (d = 0.39) and pain interference (d = 0.63) and significantly better follow-up outcomes on depression (d = 0.43) and pain interference (d = 0.51). There were no differences on anxiety and pain intensity. Observed proportions of clinically significant improvement favoured the hybrid on all but one comparison, but no statistically significant differences were observed. We conclude that the hybrid emotion-focused treatment may be considered an acceptable, credible, and efficacious treatment option for chronic pain patients with comorbid emotional problems.

Indexed as

Adaptation, PsychologicalAdultAnxietyChronic PainCognitive Behavioral TherapyDepressionEmotionsFemaleHumansImplosive TherapyMaleMiddle AgedPain ManagementTreatment Outcome

Identifiers

PMID31335641
PMCPMC6687409
OpenAlexW2936028955

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.