Efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy on Headache Considering the Moderating Role of Alexithymia: A Randomized Controlled Trial
The Journal of Qazvin University of Medical Sciences June 23, 2019 Sara Namjoo, Mohammad Reza Seirafi, Farhad Assarzadegan et al.
In a clinical trial with 85 patients with chronic primary headache, Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) significantly reduced pain intensity and pain catastrophizing while increasing self-efficacy, compared with a control group. The authors suggest that alexithymia may moderate these effects, potentially helping identify patients who benefit most from MBCT. The study reports statistically significant time-by-group interactions for pain intensity, self-efficacy, and catastrophizing, but no specific effect sizes or p-values are provided in the abstract. The authors conclude that MBCT is a potentially efficacious approach for headache patients, with alexithymia as a clinically relevant factor.