Psychological Approaches for Migraine Management

John A Sturgeon; Dawn M Ehde; Beth D Darnall; Meredith J Barad; Daniel J Clauw; Mark P Jensen

doi:10.1016/j.anclin.2023.02.002

Psychological Approaches for Migraine Management

Anesthesiol Clin. 2023 Jun;41(2):341-355. doi: 10.1016/j.anclin.2023.02.002. Epub 2023 Mar 15.

Authors

John A Sturgeon¹, Dawn M Ehde², Beth D Darnall³, Meredith J Barad⁴, Daniel J Clauw⁵, Mark P Jensen²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan Medical School, 24 Frank Lloyd Wright Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48105, USA. Electronic address: jsturgeo@med.umich.edu.
² Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, 325 Ninth Avenue, Box 359612, Seattle, WA 98104, USA.
³ Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, 430 Broadway Street, Pavilion C, 3rd Floor MC6343, Redwood City, CA 94063, USA.
⁴ Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, 1070 Arastradero, Suite 200, MC 5596, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA.
⁵ Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan Medical School, 24 Frank Lloyd Wright Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48105, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan Medical School, 24 Frank Lloyd Wright Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48105, USA; Department of Internal Medicine-Rheumatology, University of Michigan Medical School, 24 Frank Lloyd Wright Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48105, USA.

Abstract

Migraine headaches are among the most prevalent and disabling pain conditions worldwide. Best-practice migraine management is multidisciplinary and includes the psychological approaches to address cognitive, behavioral, and affective factors that worsen pain, distress, and disability. The psychological interventions with the strongest research support are relaxation strategies, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and biofeedback, though the quality of clinical trials for all psychological interventions needs continued improvement. The efficacy of psychological interventions may be improved by validating technology-based delivery systems, developing interventions for trauma and life stress, and precision medicine approaches matching treatments to patients based on specific clinical characteristics.

Keywords: Biofeedback; Cognitive-behavioral therapy; Migraine; Psychological treatment; Relaxation therapy; Telehealth.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Biofeedback, Psychology
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy*
Humans
Migraine Disorders* / psychology
Migraine Disorders* / therapy
Pain

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding