Compassion focused therapy for pain management: ‘3 systems approach’ to understanding why striving and self-criticism are key psychological barriers to regulating activity and improving self-care for people living with persistent pain.

Source: Br J Pain 2023 Feb; 17(1). doi: 10.1177/20494637221133630Authors: Malpus Z, Nazar Z, Smith C, Armitage L

This paper describes the development of an eight-week Compassion Focused Therapy for Pain Management (CFT-PM) group. This group was specifically designed for ‘strivers’ a sub-group of people with persistent pain who tend to engage in over-activity and resist making reasonable adjustments to their activity levels to accommodate their persistent pain. ‘Strivers’ tend to cope by ignoring their pain and pushing on through, in the shorter term leading to ‘boom and bust’ activity-related exacerbations of their pain. They also risk the development of additional persistent fatigue and burnout in the longer term.

Pubmed ID: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36815069/