Somatic symptoms, including physical pain, are highly prevalent among mental health patients. Current treatments have limited effectiveness for these symptoms, primarily because of patients' diminished introspective capacity and lack of emotional awareness. The current study proposes pain acceptance training as a new intervention. This intervention relies on the tenets of dialectical thinking, particularly on maintaining a dialectic perspective - at once acknowledging both the desire to end the pain and the ability to accept it as it is. We aim to examine the following: (1) the efficacy of pain acceptance training in the alleviation of somatic pain in patients with somatic symptoms; (2) the role of dialectical thinking as a mediator of pain acceptance training efficacy.
Men and Women
Aged 18-70
Able to provide a signed informed consent
Experiencing significant pain symptoms that interfere with daily-life functioning
Patients rating their average pain in the last week and in the last month as less than 3 in a 0-10 numerical rating scale (i.e. NPS)
Patients rating their emotional distress levels as less than 25 in a 10-50 numerical rating scale (i.e. Kessler Psychological Distress Scale [K10])
Patients diagnosed with psychotic disorders and/or suffering from psychotic symptoms.
Patients diagnosed with Autism Spectrum disorder.
University of Haifa
Lead sponsor
Rambam Health Care Campus
Collaborator