Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for Pain
The Combined In-Person and Internet Cognitive Behavioural Therapy chronic pain program for children and youth with CP feasibility study is part of an initiative in CP-NET aimed to produce clinically relevant research. We are interested in determining if a randomized clinical study of group cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), focussing on children/youth with cerebral palsy (CP) or other physical neurodisabilities who have chronic pain, can be helpful to reduce the way pain is interfering with activities and be run successfully at a children’s treatment center. Children and youth who are 8-18 years old and are clients at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital are eligible to participate.
Participants will be randomized to either an early CBT treatment group or a delayed CBT treatment group. This will allow us to compare differences between the groups over time. The 8-week CBT program will involve 1-hour weekly meetings, with four being in person and four being remote (Zoom). A study website will be available to participants during the CBT period which provides additional resources to support what is learned each week. Children/youth will be asked to wear a smart watch to collect heart rate information to see if there is a link with elevated heart rate, reported pain, and coping strategies. We will collect information during a series of online meetings with electronic survey forms (up to four) and with the smart watch for heart rate. First, we will measure items related to how feasible the study is (e.g., the number of individuals who participate in the study, number of sessions attended, how complete the data is, and participant reports of what went well or not). We will also measure progress towards goals set for pain management, and questions about how pain interferes with activities, pain coping, and well-being. Each questionnaire meeting will take about 30 minutes or less.