{"id":54925,"date":"2025-05-08T07:44:31","date_gmt":"2025-05-08T07:44:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/psychologydictionary.ae\/?p=54925"},"modified":"2025-05-08T07:46:05","modified_gmt":"2025-05-08T07:46:05","slug":"new-hope-for-chronic-pain-emotion-focused-brain-therapy-shows-promising-results","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/psychologydictionary.ae\/en\/new-hope-for-chronic-pain-emotion-focused-brain-therapy-shows-promising-results\/","title":{"rendered":"New Hope for Chronic Pain: Emotion-Focused Brain Therapy Shows Promising Results"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A recent study by UNSW Sydney<\/strong> and Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA)<\/strong> has introduced a breakthrough in chronic pain management by focusing on emotional processing<\/strong> within the brain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Led by Professor Sylvia Gustin<\/strong> and Dr. Nell Norman-Nott<\/strong>, the team developed a new digital therapy called Pain and Emotion Therapy<\/strong>. The goal is to train the brain<\/strong> to better manage negative emotions<\/strong> and strengthen positive emotional responses<\/strong>, which in turn reduces the perception of pain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Published in JAMA Network Open<\/em>, the randomised controlled trial<\/strong> involved 89 individuals<\/strong> living with chronic pain<\/strong> between March 2023 and September 2024<\/strong>. The results revealed a 10-point reduction<\/strong> in pain intensity (on a 100-point scale) among participants who completed the therapy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“By improving how we deal with emotions, we can change how pain is experienced” says Prof. Gustin. “This approach provides not just short-term relief, but long-lasting improvements in quality of life<\/strong>“.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Emotional Regulation Matters in Pain Treatment<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Chronic pain<\/strong>\u2014defined as pain lasting longer than three months\u2014affects nearly 30% of the global population<\/strong> and is closely linked with depression<\/strong>, anxiety<\/strong>, and higher suicide risk<\/strong>. One of the main factors worsening the condition is the brain\u2019s impaired ability to regulate emotions<\/strong> due to persistent pain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Participants in the study reported improvements in:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Emotional awareness<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Resilience to negative feelings<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Sleep quality<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Mental health<\/strong>
    <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    Dr. Norman-Nott explains, \u201cTraditional pain medications have their place, but they come with side effects<\/strong>, dependency risks<\/strong> and diminishing effectiveness<\/strong>. Our therapy provides a psychological solution<\/strong> with minimal risks\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Accessible, Digital, and Evidence-Based<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Delivered through eight online, group-based sessions<\/strong> supported by a custom app and handbook, this eHealth program reached participants from across Australia<\/strong>, including rural and remote regions<\/strong>. This flexible format<\/strong> allowed individuals to practice emotional regulation at their own pace, from the comfort of their homes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The next stage of the research will be a larger clinical trial<\/strong>, scheduled for 2026<\/strong>, backed by the Medical Research Future Fund<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    “This therapy marks a new direction in the treatment of chronic pain\u2014addressing both the body and the mind” Prof. Gustin concludes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    A recent study by UNSW Sydney and Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA) has introduced a breakthrough in chronic pain management by focusing on emotional processing within the brain. Led by Professor Sylvia Gustin and Dr. Nell Norman-Nott, the team developed a new digital therapy called Pain and Emotion Therapy. The goal is to train the brain […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":54926,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[181],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-54925","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/psychologydictionary.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54925","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/psychologydictionary.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/psychologydictionary.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/psychologydictionary.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/psychologydictionary.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54925"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/psychologydictionary.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54925\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54930,"href":"https:\/\/psychologydictionary.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54925\/revisions\/54930"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/psychologydictionary.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54926"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/psychologydictionary.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54925"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/psychologydictionary.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54925"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/psychologydictionary.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54925"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}