Integrating Dialectical Behaviour Therapy and Art Based Tools in the Management of Chronic Pain: A Scoping Review

Description

Devdeep Roy Chowdhury¹ and Sreemoyee Tarafder² (Senior Clinical Psychologist, India Autism Center, Kolkata, West Bengal¹ and Department of Psychology, West Bengal State University, Berunanpukuria, Barasat, West Bengal²)

Chronic Pain is experienced globally by an epidemiologically significant number of individuals. Treatment of Chronic pain has received a lot of research attention in the past three decades. Apart from the medical management procedures, psychological management of chronic pain is still an evolving area of research. The aim of the present paper was to perform a scoping review into the utilisation of DBT and art based tools in the management of chronic pain. PRISMA method was followed to systematically search for literature across different databases. A rigorous set of eligibility criteria were applied, and finally 22 studies were reviewed, 12 on the application of DBT in pain, and 10 on the application of art based interventions on pain. The findings indicated that chronic pain is linked with emotion regulation, psychological flexibility and cognitive processes. While DBT helps to improve emotion regulation, resilience, pain acceptance, and depressive symptoms, art based tools improve emotional expression, anxiety release, optimism, and quality of life. Therefore DBT and art based tools can be considered as complementary approaches. In conclusion, the reviewed literature suggested that both DBT and art-based tools are beneficial in pain management and therefore, an integrated intervention model that combines the two may offer greater therapeutic benefits for individuals going through chronic pain. The review therefore has emphasized the importance of incorporating psychological and experiential approaches into chronic pain management.