Annals Academy of Medicine Effi cacy of CBT for Chronic Pain in Singapore—Esther PG Tan et al Effi cacy of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Patients with Chronic

Background: The use of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) techniques to manage chronic pain is relatively new and understudied in Singapore. Using data collected from group CBT programmes carried out at the Singapore General Hospital (SGH), we seek to explore the ef-fi cacy of the programme on pain intensity, self-effi cacy, attitudes towards pain, and emotional factors. We also examined the effi cacy of the longer 6- to 9-day group programme versus an abridged 2-day version called the Pacing Programme covering only some aspects of the full group programme. Materials and Methods: Twenty-nine adult patients underwent the intensive 6- to 9-day group programme while another 10 patients underwent the abridged 2-day group programme. The more extensive group programme encompassed teaching patients cognitive-behavioural methods of coping with pain, such as setting goals, pacing, cognitive restructuring by thinking in more positively, distraction, problem solving, sleep hygiene, communication skills, ability to cope with changes, and relaxation techniques. The abridged programme focused mainly on developing pacing skills. Patients were required to fi ll out questionnaires at the begin-ning of the programme, end of the programme, and at the 1-month and 6-month follow-ups t