Cognitive and Behaviorally Oriented Psychotherapies for Fibromyalgia

Evidence-based psychotherapies for fibromyalgia (FM) are often grounded in the BioPsychoSocial perspective. The three therapies to be reviewed here are Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Emotional Awareness and Expression Therapy (EAET). Each of these therapies is based upon known principles of cognitive and behavioral change and can be applied either to influence factors known to affect pain perception (e.g., sensory, emotional, cognitive) or to facilitate engagement in salient functional activities. This chapter provides a description of each form of therapy including its orientation, rationale, approaches for using the therapy, and an overview of the evidence supporting the use of each form of therapy in the treatment of FM.