A targeted psychotherapy approach shows promising results in treating chronic back pain, and potentially other forms of chronic pain. The approach was studied at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

“For a long time, we have thought that chronic pain is due primarily to problems in the body, and most treatments to date have targeted that,” said lead author Yoni Ashar, who conducted the study. “This treatment is based on the premise that the brain can generate pain in the absence of injury or after an injury has healed, and that people can unlearn that pain.

In their weekly conversation, psychologist Dan Gottlieb and WHYY’s Maiken Scott discuss the approach and results.