Web-based CBT for Children With Chronic Pain

Chronic pain is an important problem for children and adolescents owing to its high prevalence rate and significant impact on children's mood, daily functioning, and overall quality of life. Effective psychological treatments have been developed to change behaviors and thoughts important in the child's ability to cope with chronic pain. However, the majority of children do not have access to these treatments due to a variety of barriers such as geographical distance from pediatric pain treatment centers.

The purpose of this study is to develop a more accessible method of delivering effective psychological treatment to reduce pain and increase function in children. Children with chronic headache, abdominal, or musculoskeletal pain will be randomized to either receive the web-based treatment right away or to be in a wait-list control condition and receive the treatment 8 weeks later. Both groups of children will continue to receive clinical care through specialty medical clinics. Children's level of pain, their ability to perform, daily functional activities, and overall quality of life will be evaluated before treatment begins, immediately after treatment, and at a 3 month follow up.