A therapeutic technique developed by an American doctor, the EAET, would improve the symptoms of fibromyalgia in a third of patients.
Fibromyalgia is a complex disease, probably with neurological causes but whose exact origin remains unclear. His treatment is too. Analgesics and antidepressants can be prescribed, but faced with their relative lack of effectiveness, some people turn to non-drug techniques.
Relaxation, first of all, has shown its effectiveness. Cognitive-behavioral therapies too. An American doctor, Howard Schubiner, director of the Mind-Body Medicine Program from Providence Hospital in Southfield (Michigan, USA), has developed a new approach called Emotional awareness and expression therapy (EAET).
In a clinical trial, fibromyalgia patients tested it. After eight 90-minute sessions and a six-month follow-up, more than a third (35%) of patients reported feeling “better” or “much better”.
emotional experiences
The therapy encourages talking about emotional experiences related to trauma, conflict, or relationship issues.
“Many people with fibromyalgia have faced adversity in their lives, such as victimization, family issues or internal conflict, all of which can create important emotions that are often suppressed or avoided,” says Mark Lumley, professor of psychology at Wayne State University (USA), which conducted the study. The latest neuroscience research suggests they can be a major contributor to pain, and other physical symptoms. »
The principle of the therapy is therefore to help patients overcome these emotional disorders to reduce their symptoms, more than simply to accompany them in the acceptance of their fibromyalgia.
Better than TCCs
The study, the results of which are published in the journal Bread, brought together 230 people with fibromyalgia, divided into three groups, each receiving a different treatment. Either EAET, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), or simply therapeutic education sessions.
35% of patients who followed the EAET claimed to have felt a clear or very clear improvement, compared to only 15% in those who had only received therapeutic education. Compared to the CBT group, they were on an equal footing in general, but the patients evaluating their gain at more than 50% were much more numerous for the EAET (22.5% against 8% for the CBT).
EAET therefore performs as well as, or even better than, cognitive-behavioral therapies. “The treatment does not help everyone with fibromyalgia, but many patients have found it very helpful, and some have even experienced dramatic improvements in their day-to-day life and health,” said Prof. Lumley.
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