Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Chronic Pain: A Clinical Primer with Kevin Vowles, PhD - On-Demand-Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Chronic Pain

Video Transcription

Video Summary

Kevin Vowles, PhD, presented acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) as an approach to chronic pain focused on restoring meaningful living rather than making pain reduction a prerequisite for improvement.<br /><br />He emphasized that pain intensity alone reveals little about a person’s functioning or suffering. Spinal abnormalities are common even among people without pain, while emotional, social, and economic circumstances can strongly influence pain-related disruption. Chronic pain is widespread and often persistent, and many medical interventions offer limited long-term relief.<br /><br />ACT distinguishes pain from its impact on life. Persistent efforts to control pain can restrict activity and increase distress. Treatment instead helps people reduce unhelpful struggle, clarify what matters to them, and take meaningful action while making room for discomfort. Present-moment awareness and willingness can support flexible responses. Success is assessed through improved functioning, valued activity, and quality of life—not pain reduction alone.<br /><br />Vowles reviewed research linking reduced struggle and increased values-based activity with better outcomes, including follow-up findings showing that gains can persist. He shared clinical examples illustrating varied treatment trajectories, and stressed that ACT is not effective for everyone. Interdisciplinary treatment may be particularly helpful for people with complex needs, with clinicians across disciplines integrating values and meaningful activity into care.<br /><br />In the discussion, Vowles offered to share free clinical protocols and a reading list. He noted limited experience with buprenorphine for pain and highlighted stress, deprivation, and limited resources as potential contributors to chronic pain burden.

Keywords

acceptance and commitment therapy

ACT

chronic pain

values-based activity

meaningful living

pain management

functional outcomes

psychological flexibility

pain acceptance

interdisciplinary treatment

present-moment awareness

clinician protocols

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