[Anger-related interventions for treatment of chronic pain : A systematic review]

Negatively experienced emotions, especially anger, influence pain-related variables and impair the quality of life. Although a variety of treatment approaches exist there is still no comprehensive overview of anger-related interventions for chronic pain and which effects with respect to anger-specific and pain-specific variables can be detected.

To answer these questions, a systematic review was conducted according to the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines. The review included a comprehensive literature search that identified and analyzed relevant studies on anger-related interventions for primary chronic pain. These studies were compared with respect to the interventions used, the variables studied and the results obtained.

In the extracted studies (n = 5) significant positive effects of specific anger-related interventions on both pain-related and anger-related variables could be demonstrated.

Anger-focused treatment approaches are consequently considered a promising therapeutic option for chronic pain. To optimize their application in clinical practice further research on the effects and mechanisms of anger-related interventions is recommended.