Recruiting

Writing Intervention

Sponsor:

Massachusetts General Hospital

Code:

NCT06870162

Conditions

Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Pain Disengagement Training

Study Details

Brief summary:

The investigators aim to conduct an open pilot trial to determine the initial feasibility of a self-directed writing-based intervention in individuals with chronic musculoskeletal pain and elevated pain catastrophizing. The investigators will assess the feasibility of recruitment, acceptability of the treatment, credibility and participant satisfaction, treatment adherence, and feasibility of assessments following pre-specified benchmarks.

Conditions

Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain

Study ID

NCT06870162

Start date

Oct 14, 2025

Status verified date

Aug, 2026

Completion date

Dec 10, 2026

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Dec 10, 2026

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Outpatient adults (i.e., greater than or equal to 18)
2. Has self reported chronic musculoskeletal pain (i.e., pain persisting for at least 3 months)
3. Pain score greater than or equal to 4 (moderate) on the Numerical Rating Scale
4. Pain catastrophizing score greater than or equal to 20 on Pain Catastrophizing Scale
5. Willingness to engage in a writing-based intervention and self-reported ability to write or type for at least 30 minutes in a sitting
6. Received care at Massachusetts General Hospital
7. English verbal and writing fluency

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Clinically significant change in therapy or medication in the past 3 months
2. Severe untreated mental health condition (e.g., psychosis)
3. Active suicidality with history of plan or current intent
4. Serious illness expected to worsen in the next 6 months (e.g., cancer)
5. Untreated substance use problem that, per patient's self-report, would interfere with the ability to complete the intervention.

Study Design

Enrollment

10 participants

Anticipated

Intervention Model

Single group

Primary purpose

Treatment

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Pain Disengagement Training

The intervention involves approximately 8 sessions. The first session will involve a psychoeducation component describing the association between negative emotions and pain and the rationale for the intervention strategies. The intervention sessions will consist of approximately 30 minutes of writing alternating between imaginal exposure writing and positive writing periods alternating back and forth (e.g., 3-5 minutes of imaginal exposure writing followed by 3-5 minutes of positive writing before returning to imaginal exposure writing, etc.). Exposure writing will involve writing about a pain-related catastrophic worry repeatedly until it becomes less anxiety-provoking. The positive writing topics will change with each prompt and will be structured by session theme (e.g., values/goals, meaningful activities). They will also complete between session practice by setting aside a time for worrying and then completing a meaningful activity.

Interventions

Pain Disengagement Training

The intervention involves approximately 8 sessions. The first session will involve a psychoeducation component describing the association between negative emotions and pain and the rationale for the intervention strategies. The intervention sessions will consist of approximately 30 minutes of writing alternating between imaginal exposure writing and positive writing periods alternating back and forth (e.g., 3-5 minutes of imaginal exposure writing followed by 3-5 minutes of positive writing before returning to imaginal exposure writing, etc.). Exposure writing will involve writing about a pain-related catastrophic worry repeatedly until it becomes less anxiety-provoking. The positive writing topics will change with each prompt and will be structured by session theme (e.g., values/goals, meaningful activities). They will also complete between session practice by setting aside a time for worrying and then completing a meaningful activity.

Primary outcome measure

  • Feasibility of recruitment [ Time Frame: Baseline, post-test (6 weeks) ]
  • Acceptability of treatment [ Time Frame: Baseline, post-test (6 weeks) ]
  • Credibility and Expectancy Questionnaire [ Time Frame: Baseline ]
  • Client Satisfaction Questionnaire [ Time Frame: Post-test (6 weeks) ]
  • Adherence to intervention [ Time Frame: Mid-intervention ]
  • Feasibility of assessments [ Time Frame: Baseline, post-test (6 weeks) ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Katherine McDermott, PhD

(617) 643-4208kmcdermott@mgh.harvard.edu

Ana-Maria Vranceanu, PhD

avranceanu@mgh.harvard.edu

Locations

Massachusetts General Hospital

Recruiting

Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02114

Contacts

Katherine McDermott, PhD

(617) 643-4208kmcdermott@mgh.harvard.edu

Principal Investigator:

Katherine McDermott, PhD

More Information

Sponsor

Massachusetts General Hospital

Last update posted

Aug 21, 2026

Last verified

Aug, 2026

Keywords

  • pain catastrophizing

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by Massachusetts General Hospital on 2026-08-21.