Name
Brief Pain Psychoeducation in Integrated Primary Care: Effects on Pain Beliefs and Behavioral Health Treatment Intentions
Description

Chronic pain is highly prevalent yet behavioral health treatments remain underutilized, particularly in rural underserved primary care settings. This presentation describes a randomized controlled study examining whether brief biopsychosocial pain psychoeducation influences patients’ intentions to seek behavioral health care. Findings suggest that psychoeducation increased endorsement of psychological pain beliefs and increased willingness to pursue behavioral health treatment. Provider recommendation also significantly increased treatment-seeking intentions. Implications for integrated primary care workflows and behavioral health engagement strategies will be discussed.

Speakers
Jose Hernandez, LMFT
Angela Lamson, PhD, LMFT
Co-Authors
Jose A. Hernandez, Kayla Reed-Fitzke, Lisa Campbell
Content Level
All Audience
Tags
Primary Care Behavioral Health Model, Research and evaluation, Rural
Session Type
Poster
Objective 1
Describe the role of brief pain psychoeducation in shaping patients’ beliefs about chronic pain within integrated primary care settings.
Objective 2
Identify psychosocial and clinical factors that influence patients’ intentions to seek behavioral health treatment for chronic pain.
Objective 3
Discuss how brief psychoeducation and provider recommendation may support engagement with behavioral health services in integrated primary care.
Content Reference 1

Ashar, Y. K., Gordon, A., Schubiner, H., Uipi, C., Knight, K., Anderson, Z., Carlisle, J., Polisky, L., Geuter, S., Flood, T. F., Kragel, P. A., Dimidjian, S., Lumley, M. A., & Wager, T. D. (2022). Effect of pain reprocessing therapy vs placebo and usual care for patients with chronic back pain: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA Psychiatry, 79(1), 13–23.

Content Reference 2

Driscoll, M. A., Edwards, R. R., Becker, W. C., Kaptchuk, T. J., & Kerns, R. D. (2021). Psychological interventions for the treatment of chronic pain in adults. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 22(2), 52–95.

Content Reference 3

De La Rosa, J. S., Brady, B. R., Ibrahim, M. M., Herder, K. E., Wallace, J. S., Padilla, A. R., & Vanderah, T. W. (2024). Co-occurrence of chronic pain and anxiety/depression symptoms in U.S. adults: Prevalence, functional impacts, and opportunities. Pain

Content Reference 4

Rikard, S. M., Strahan, A. E., Schmit, K. M., & Guy, G. P. (2023). Chronic pain among adults—United States, 2019–2021. MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 72(15), 379–385.

Content Reference 5

Schubiner, H., Lowry, W. J., Heule, M., Ashar, Y. K., Lim, M., Mekaru, S., Kitts, T., & Lumley, M. A. (2024). Application of a clinical approach to diagnosing primary pain: Prevalence and correlates of primary back and neck pain in a community physiatry clinic. The Journal of Pain, 25(3), 672–681.