Journal of Isfahan Medical School

Journal of Isfahan Medical School

The Effectiveness of Emotion Regulation-Based Therapy on Reducing Pain Catastrophizing and Pain Intensity in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Document Type : Original Article (s)

Authors
Maryam Parchamifar 1
Alireza Shirazitehrani 2
1 Student, Department of Clinical Psychology, Faculty of Medicine, Najafabad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Najafabad, Iran
2 Assistant Professor, Department of Clinical Psychology, Faculty of Medicine, Najafabad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Najafabad, Iran
10.48305/jims.v43.i844.1779
Abstract
Background: Psychological factors are among the factors that affect the pain of patients with chronic pain, including patients with rheumatoid arthritis. The present study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of emotion regulation therapy on catastrophizing and pain severity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.Methods: The study employed a quasi-experimental design with a pretest-posttest control group. The population consisted of all patients with rheumatoid arthritis, from which a convenience sample of 34 participants was selected and divided into experimental (n = 17) and control (n = 17) groups. The instruments used were the Chronic Pain Grade Scale (Von Korff, 1992) and the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (Sullivan et al., 1995). The experimental group participated in 8 sessions of emotion regulation therapy, while the control group received no psychological intervention. Data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA).
Findings: The results indicated significant differences between pretest and posttest scores, demonstrating that emotion regulation therapy was effective in reducing pain catastrophizing and pain intensity in the posttest phase (P < 0.01).
Conclusion: Emotion regulation-based therapy appears to be an effective psychological intervention for decreasing pain catastrophizing and pain intensity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. It can be considered a useful complementary treatment for use by clinicians and healthcare providers
Keywords
Emotion Regulation Therapy
Pain Catastrophizing
Pain Measurement
Rheumatoid Arthritis

Subjects

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Journal of Isfahan Medical School
Volume 43, Issue 844
4th Week, February
January and February 2026
Pages 1779-1786

  • Receive Date 05 March 2025
  • Accept Date 04 January 2026