Brief cognitive-behavioral therapy with fibromyalgia patients in routine care

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a brief cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) group intervention for fibromyalgia syndrome in routine care.

Thirty-four female outpatients who participated in a 5- to 6-week group CBT program were assessed for depression (Beck Depression Inventory), anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory), coping strategies (Coping Questionnaire for Chronic Pain), physical functioning (Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire), and somatization (Health Attitude Survey) at 3 time points (baseline, pretreatment, and posttreatment) using a pre-post, quasi-experimental design.

Twenty-three female outpatients (68% of the initial sample) for which data were available in all 3 time points were included in the analyses. No changes were found during the waiting period. During the treatment period, there were significant reductions in depression (P = .001) and anxiety (P = .006) symptoms and an increased use of distraction skills (P < .001). The analysis of rate of change showed a significant correlation between anxiety and depression (P = .004), but not between these variables and the use of distraction as a coping strategy.

Brief group CBT is effective in reducing emotional distress in female patients with long-standing fibromyalgia syndrome in the context of routine care. Attention-distraction skills appear to be amenable to change by means of brief CBT, but further research is needed to clarify their contribution to short-term clinical improvement.