A new online therapy approach was found to help people with chronic pain and a new report is helping researchers develop the next step.

Professor Sylvia Gustin and Dr Nell Norman-Nott from NeuRA (Neuroscience Research Australia) and UNSW Sydney have developed Pain and Emotion Therapy, a program to help people work directly with their emotions through Zoom, a smartphone app and printed workbook.

​“Pain and Emotion therapy teaches people with chronic pain to identify and regulate their emotions, reconnect with positive feelings and respond more flexibly to pain,” said Dr Norman-Nott.

​“Our trial showed that enhancing the brain’s capacity for emotional processing through therapeutic intervention is an effective approach for managing chronic pain, providing not just a temporary relief but a potential long-term improvement in quality of life.

​“Our qualitative study explored the acceptability of Pain and Emotion Therapy, which integrates skills training based on internet-delivered dialectical behavioural therapy, hypnotic suggestions, pain science education and resilience-building strategies in a hybrid guided and self-directed online format.”

The acceptability study had many positive findings for the research team, but also highlighted the need for clinical assessment to gauge readiness for people to be undertake an emotionally focused approach, assess their sensitivity to others’ emotions in a group setting and ensure personalisation of digital components to enhance engagement.

​“We know that chronic pain is linked to real pathological changes in the brain’s emotional processing areas, and Pain and Emotion Therapy targets these changes to help rewire them,” said Prof Gustin.

​“The findings of this qualitative study will have implications for how we develop our program to ensure it has maximum positive impact for people using it.”

The team is now preparing two new clinical trials, applying the findings from their study. One will combine Pain and Emotion therapy with gentle movement and exercise sessions led by an exercise physiologist. The other will include a further one-on-one format, to see whether individual therapy can further tailor support to each person’s needs.

​“People who have used Pain and Emotion Therapy have talked about the benefits they have experienced and we’re looking forward to rolling out the new clinical trials to spread that benefit further,” Dr Norman-Nott said.

Both will recruit around 300 participants across Australia from early 2026 and are funded by the Medical Research Future Fund. Interested individuals can register their interest here.

The study was published in the International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology and is available here.