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Understanding and Treating Chronic Post-Surgical Pain with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

This study is looking into chronic post-surgical pain (CPSP) in adolescents and adults. It aims to better understand the brain and body changes that contribute to this pain, and how different ages experience it. You might be eligible if you are 12 years or older, have had surgery at least six months ago, and have experienced chronic pain for at least three months after your surgery. The study is testing an intervention called Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), which is a behavioral therapy designed to help people cope with difficult experiences like pain by increasing openness and focusing on living a values-based life. Success in this study will be measured by how much participants accept their pain, using a questionnaire, after five years. The current recruitment status is unclear.

Study design
This interventional study plans to enroll 110 participants. Participants will be randomly assigned to either a one-day group workshop based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) or Treatment as Usual (TAU).
What's involved
Participants will attend a one-day (5 hours) group workshop and a one-month post-workshop individual booster session via Zoom. The study will measure pain acceptance at 5 years.
Compensation
Not stated in the trial record.
Follow-up
Participants will be followed for five years to measure pain acceptance.

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NCT05304286

Psychophysical and Neural Mechanisms Contributing to Chronic Post-Surgical Pain in Adolescents and Adults

Recruiting
NAAges 12+InterventionalTreatment
Massachusetts General Hospital
~110 participants
Updated 2025-11-03 on ClinicalTrials.gov
What's tested:Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

At a glance

Recruiting sites
1 of 1 listed site is recruiting right now
RecruitingSuspended, closed, or not yet open
What they're measuring
Pain acceptance using the Chronic Pain Acceptance Questionnaire - Revised (CPAQ-R)
Measured over 5 years

Conditions

Chronic Post-surgical Pain

Explore related trials

Chronic postoperative pain

Where it's being run

1 sites across 1 states
Massachusetts1

Study leadership

  • Christine B. Sieberg · PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR · Massachusetts General Hospital

Who to contact

Christine B Sieberg, PhD
[email protected]
6177261654
Email the study team

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Do you actually qualify for this trial?

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Eligibility criteria

Inclusion

Females and males aged 12 and older who have previously undergone surgery at least 6 months ago and have chronic post surgical pain (3 months after surgery or longer)

Exclusion

Inability to speak sufficient English or another language that can be interpreted orally and for questionnaires with the research team
Severe cognitive impairment by history (e.g., intellectual disability, severe head injury)
Patients with significant psychiatric disorders
Use of illegal hard drugs including MDMA, heroin, methamphetimes, amphetamines, cocaine, ketamine, benzodiazepines, and phencyclidine. Absence of such drugs will be confirmed in a urine drug screen during the visit. If prescription medication includes any of these compounds, that medication is not exclusionary.

What this trial measures

  • Pain acceptance using the Chronic Pain Acceptance Questionnaire - Revised (CPAQ-R)5 years

    The 20-item CPAQ-revised has been designed to measure acceptance of pain. The acceptance of chronic pain is thought to reduce unsuccessful attempts to avoid or control pain and thus focus on engaging in valued activities and pursuing meaningful goals. The items on the CPAQ are rated on a 7-point scale from 0 (never true) to 6 (always true). To score the CPAQ, add the items for Activity engagement and Pain willingness to obtain a score for each factor. To obtain the total score, add the scores for each factor together. Higher scores indicate higher levels of acceptance