The Experience of Loss in Patients Suffering from Chronic Pain Attending a Pain Management Group Based on Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy

Chronic pain has been found to cause significant losses in the lives of those who experience it. To improve their life situation, it is important to understand the impact of these losses and manage them effectively. The aim of this study was twofold. We wanted to investigate which phenomena in the lives of patients with chronic pain could be described as experiences of loss, and whether a cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)–based group approach could help them process such losses. A qualitative approach based on semistructured interviews with six patients was chosen to investigate the experiences of patients with chronic pain. The findings in this study indicate that the patients experienced several losses: loss of ability to engage in meaningful activities, loss of relations with others, and loss of self. The experience of loss in their life situation can be difficult for them to deal with and creates a need for support and guidance. The study indicates that participation in a CBT-based group that focuses on processing these losses can be beneficial in helping patients identify and accept the losses and changes they have experienced, and thereby change their behavior toward a meaningful life despite their chronic pain. Failure to address these losses may result in patients obtaining few of the benefits that could be gained from pain management groups. Because the findings point to the synergies among several components in the program, it is difficult to isolate the effects of a single component. The conscious use of CBT-based elements, i.e., changing behavior by changing thoughts and feelings, in the pain management group seemed to help them to process the losses through new insight and understanding.