Lila Ozdemir

The use of psychotherapies as a treatment for chronic pain

Started Oct. 17, 2025

Abstract or project description

Around 20.5% of the population experiences chronic pain, and typically, treatments include painkilling medications which may include severe side effects. Certain individuals may feel adverse to taking these medications, which is why psychotherapies are a promising solution. Common psychotherapies include biofeedback, neurofeedback, mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR), mindfulness based cognitive therapy (MBCT), and hypnosis. Biofeedback and neurofeedback both show promise in directly treating pain, while MBSR and MBCT best treat pain symptoms, indirectly treating discomfort. Hypnosis appears most effective in treating both a variety of pains and pain symptoms, though this may be due to the extensive studies on psychotherapy. Overall, psychotherapies prove to be highly promising treatments to pain that avoid the drawbacks of medications. Several psychotherapies were under-researched, though in general, there needs to be further analysis on the effects psychotherapies have on chronic pain.