Psychological Treatments and Psychotherapies in the Neurorehabilitation of Pain: Evidences and Recommendations from the Italian Consensus Conference on Pain in Neurorehabilitation

Treating pain is crucial for effective care within neurological rehabilitation. Psychological treatments are valuable tools within a multidisciplinary approach for fostering a reduction in pain intensity. There is a need to elucidate what forms of psychotherapy could be effectively matched with the specific pathologies that are typically addressed by neurorehabilitation teams. Psychological therapies play an important role in the multidisciplinary treatment of pain in the neurorehabilitation setting because of their efficacy and the general absence of side effects.

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  Cognitive—Behavioral Therapy, cognitive or behavioral techniques, Mindfulness, hypnosis, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Brief Interpersonal Therapy, virtual reality interventions, various forms of biofeedback and mirror therapy were found to be effective for pain reduction.
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  Psychological interventions and psychotherapies are safe and effective treatments that can be used within an integrated approach for patients undergoing neurological rehabilitation for pain.
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  The different interventions can be specifically selected depending on the disease being treated.