Mechanisms of Mindfulness Meditation and Self-Hypnosis for Pain in Older Adults With Chronic Pain
The goal of this study is to better understand how two common psychological treatments for pain work in the brain of older adults living with chronic pain. This study will: 1. evaluate fMRI of adults receiving psychological treatments for chronic pain to determine how these interventions work within older adults, and 2. examine self-report and EEG variables to identify for whom do these psychological interventions work. Adults ages 60 years and older, living with chronic pain for at least 3 months will be randomly assigned to one of three conditions: 1. Mindfulness-Meditation 2. Therapeutic Hypnosis 3. Story Listening
• be ≥60 years of age;
• have self-reported chronic pain (≥3-months, with pain experienced on ≥ 50% of days);
• endorse an average intensity of pain ≥3 on a 0-10 numerical rating scale (NRS) for most days of the previous 3-months;
• be able to read, speak, and understand English;
• be naïve to meditation and hypnosis:
‣ never received formal training in or attended a mindfulness meditation or therapeutic hypnosis course;
⁃ have not practiced meditation (e.g., mindfulness meditation, Zen, Buddhism, or meditation applications such as certain types of CALM meditation; or therapeutic hypnosis (e.g., hypnosis applications) in the past 6-months;
⁃ \<20-min. practice/week of meditation or therapeutic hypnosis (not described above) over the past 6-months;
• if currently taking analgesic or psychotropic medication, medication must have been stabilized for ≥4-weeks prior to this study and does not anticipate changes in the medication during the study;
• access to a private place with adequate internet reception to support participation in intervention training sessions;
• not currently participating in another clinical trial or interventional study for chronic pain and willing to refrain from participation in any other clinical trial or interventional study for chronic pain during active participation in this study;
• willing, able, and committed to participate in an in-person EEG, and two MRI/fMRI scans; and
⁃ able to use an electronic device (e.g., smart phone, tablet, computer) independently to access email and webpages or have someone available in their home who can help them with initial session set-up and then leave for the treatment sessions.