BMC Medicine
April 12, 2024
Melissa A Day, Marcia A Ciol, M Elena Mendoza et al.
9 citations
Group, videoconference-delivered cognitive therapy, behavioral activation, and mindfulness meditation all produced medium-to-large reductions in pain interference for adults with chronic low back pain, with gains maintained at 3- and 6-month follow-ups. The three treatments showed similar effectiveness, with no significant differences between them except that behavioral activation improved sleep disturbance more than mindfulness meditation from pre- to post-treatment. Effect sizes for secondary outcomes were generally small to medium across all conditions. These findings indicate that telehealth-delivered psychological treatments are effective for chronic low back pain and can expand access to evidence-based care.
Rehabilitation psychology
August 1, 2023
Aaron P Turner, Karlyn A Edwards, Mark P Jensen et al.
5 citations
Mindfulness meditation and hypnosis, originally intended to treat chronic pain, also reduced daily cannabis use among U.S. military veterans. In a randomized trial with 328 Veterans at two VA medical centers, those receiving mindfulness meditation were 85% less likely to use cannabis daily at 3 months and 81% less likely at 6 months, compared to an active education control group. Hypnosis reduced daily cannabis use risk by 82% at 6 months. Neither intervention affected tobacco or alcohol use. Baseline substance use in the prior 3 months was 22% for tobacco, 27% for cannabis, and 61% for alcohol. The findings suggest these therapies may help reduce cannabis use even when that is not the treatment goal.
Pain
February 1, 2025
James Gerhart, John W Burns, Beverly E Thorn et al.
3 citations
For chronic low back pain, cognitive therapy, mindfulness-based stress reduction, and behavior therapy all appear to work by progressively weakening the link between pain-related thoughts or pain spikes and later outcomes, rather than by directly changing those mechanisms. In a study of 521 people, associations between treatment mechanism variables and outcomes were strong early in treatment but became nonsignificant by the final third. This decoupling effect was similar across the three active treatments but did not occur in treatment as usual. The findings suggest that by midtreatment, participants may learn that maladaptive thoughts or pain increases need not worsen their subsequent experience.
The journal of pain
July 1, 2025
Ingrid Bindicsova, Leanne M Hides, Katherine Brain et al.
1 citation
A 4-week internet-delivered mindfulness-based cognitive therapy program for chronic pain was tested against a delayed-treatment control in 48 adults. High engagement and an 88% retention rate indicated the program was acceptable and feasible. Pain interference showed a small-to-medium improvement, while pain intensity change was small. Other secondary outcomes also showed small-to-medium improvements. The program may help overcome access barriers to pain management.
Multiple sclerosis (Houndmills, Basingstoke, England)
June 1, 2025
Mark P Jensen, Susan Robles, Michael G Nash et al.
1 citation
Fatigue is a common problem in multiple sclerosis (MS). Providing 4 weeks of access to audio recordings of therapeutic hypnosis or mindfulness meditation reduced fatigue impact, sleep disturbance, and depressive symptom severity more than no access in 333 individuals with MS and fatigue. These improvements persisted at 16 and 28 weeks after initial access, with no serious adverse events. The findings support the feasibility of a simple, audio-based approach to significantly benefit MS-related fatigue.
Rehabilitation psychology
February 1, 2025
Erica J Ho, Aaron P Turner, Mark P Jensen et al.
1 citation
Clinical trials of pain treatments usually measure symptom reduction, but many people live well despite pain. This study tested whether hypnosis, mindfulness meditation, or pain psychoeducation improved positive psychosocial functioning—coping and meaning-making—in 262 Veterans with chronic pain. At posttreatment and 3-month follow-up, no group differed. By 6-month follow-up, those who received hypnosis or mindfulness meditation reported better positive psychosocial functioning than those who received psychoeducation. The findings suggest that pain interventions can foster human flourishing, not just reduce symptoms.
The journal of pain
January 6, 2026
Mark P Jensen, Marcia A Ciol, Kevin J Gertz et al.
Among 328 U.S. military veterans with chronic pain, three psychological changes helped explain why clinical hypnosis, mindfulness meditation, and pain education all reduced pain intensity and interference: greater willingness to tolerate pain, increased engagement in valued activities despite pain, and reduced catastrophizing. A fourth factor—working alliance with the therapist—was linked to pain reduction only for those receiving clinical hypnosis. Catastrophizing played a larger role in mindfulness training's effects, while pain willingness mattered more for hypnosis's effect on pain interference. The findings suggest that treatments targeting thoughts about pain, avoidance, valued activities, and therapeutic alliance may improve outcomes, but replication is needed.
Journal of Pain & Palliative Care Pharmacotherapy
September 1, 2024
Melissa A Day, Natasha Matthews, Jonathan N. Davies et al.
A single 20-minute session of mindfulness meditation or loving-kindness meditation reduced pain intensity more than an audiobook control in 100 adults with chronic or current problematic pain. Both meditation types produced medium effects on pain intensity (mindfulness d=0.41, loving-kindness d=0.38), while the control showed almost no change. Pain unpleasantness decreased only slightly across all conditions. Participants expected greater benefits from both meditations than from the control. Mindfulness increased mindful observing, and loving-kindness meditation increased self-compassion, but these changes did not explain the pain reductions. Pain type did not affect the results.
Journal of Pain Research
January 1, 2022
Alexandra Ferreira-Valente, Benjamin P Van Dyke, Melissa A Day et al.
A single 20-minute session of hypnosis or mindfulness meditation, but not Christian prayer, produced small reductions in pain intensity and small increases in pain tolerance during experimental cold pressor pain in 232 healthy adults. Hypnosis showed a medium effect on pain tolerance compared to an attention control. Small within-group improvements in heart rate variability were also seen after hypnosis. Christian prayer yielded small, non-significant positive effects. The findings suggest that brief hypnosis and mindfulness meditation may be useful for acute pain self-management, with hypnosis slightly more effective.
Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.)
December 1, 2014
Mark P Jensen, Leslie H Sherlin, Felipe Fregni et al.
Baseline theta brain oscillations measured by EEG predicted greater pain reduction from hypnotic analgesia in individuals with spinal cord injury and chronic pain. Less baseline alpha power predicted pain reduction with meditation. These findings suggest that different patients respond to different pain treatments, and that between-person differences in treatment response are related to brain states as measured by EEG. The results have implications for matching patients to treatments or influencing brain activity before treatment to enhance response.