Online Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Chronic Pain in Sample of People With Chiari Malformation

Chronic pain is extremely prevalent with 20% of adults in the US reporting symptoms (Dahlhamer, 2018). Further, when accounting for lost productivity and direct health care costs, the financial burden of chronic pain has been estimated to be $560-$630 billion annually (Gaskin & Richard, 2011). A myriad of factors contribute to chronic pain including psychological symptoms and sleep. Though psychological symptoms often co-occur with chronic pain with rates estimated to be as high as 50% (Kroenke et al., 2011), chronic pain co-occurs at an even higher rate with sleep dysfunction (89%) (van Hecke, Torrance, & Smith, 2013). Sleep is believed to have a reciprocal relationship with pain, such that pain impacts sleep and sleep impacts future pain (M. T. Smith, Huang, & Manber, 2005) reciprocal relationship makes sleep an essential aspect of chronic pain that warrants attention in interventions. One intervention that has shown particular promise in treating chronic pain is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).

ACT is not a set of techniques, but rather an orientation. This orientation focuses on living a fulfilling life by way of living in line with one's values. In addition to living a life based on values, ACT encourages acceptance, as opposed to avoidance of unwanted feelings, all in the context of mindfulness (i.e., being aware of one's present environment and in tune with internal thoughts and emotions) (S. C. Hayes, Luoma, Bond, Masuda, & Lillis, 2006). Since the focus is on an orientation rather than specific techniques, ACT can be used as a transdiagnostic intervention, targeting multiple symptoms at one time. As previously noted, chronic pain is a complex diagnosis, with many interacting factors including psychological symptoms, sleep, and decreased daily functioning. ACT effectively treats the complex presentation of chronic pain. Chronic pain already costs society billions of dollars annually and administering psychological interventions are expensive and may not be available to all those in need. Online ACT interventions remedy this issue by providing services to those where treatment may not be readily available for a fraction of the price.

Though a handful of studies have explored different online ACT interventions, and found them to be efficacious, however, they have been unable to flexibly address individual differences in symptom presentations as they present the same information regardless of the participant's symptoms (Buhrman et al., 2013; S. Hayes et al., 2014; Kristjánsdóttir et al., 2013; Lin, Klatt, McCracken, & Baumeister, 2018; Simister et al., 2018; Trompetter, Bohlmeijer, Veehof, & Schreurs, 2015). Additionally, all prior online ACT interventions for chronic pain focused on pain primarily, providing examples and metaphors around the experience of pain. The aim is to administer an intervention that broadly teaches ACT philosophies without focusing only on pain, addressing individual differences in symptom presentation and allowing for personalization. The goal is to address chronic pain but to also facilitate the generalization of skills to comorbid conditions that often perpetuate the experience of chronic pain (i.e., depression, anxiety, and sleep dysfunction). Efficacy will be assessed through reductions in pain interference as well as comorbid conditions (i.e., sleep dysfunction, anxiety and depression).

Chronic pain is a commonly reported symptom of Chiari Malformation (CM). This under-researched diagnosis is characterized by the cerebellar tonsils descending 5mm or more into the spinal canal and impacts approximately 3.25 million people or 1% of the US population (B. W. Smith et al., 2013). Although chronic pain is commonly reported in CM, the etiology of a symptomatic presentation is not fully understood, and there is no direct relationship between the extent of descension of the cerebellar tonsils and pain. Regardless of elucidating the etiology of pain in CM, those with this complex chronic pain diagnosis would likely benefit from psychological and behavioral based interventions. Further, no ACT based intervention has been administered to a sample with Chiari Malformation. The purpose of the current study is to assess the efficacy of an online broad ACT intervention on a sample with Chiari Malformation.

Aim 1: Determine the efficacy and breadth of an online ACT intervention in decreasing pain interference, sleep dysfunction, depression, and anxiety.