Happy Despite Pain: Positive Psychology for Patients with Chronic Pain

Patients suffering chronic pain typical also suffer from negative affect.  Treatments to date have focused on the pain and emotional distress these patients experience.  However, positive psychology posits that, in general, people will feel better by engaging in exercises designed to increase positive affect.  No study to date has employed positive psychology methods on a population suffering from chronic pain.  This study examined the potential utility of a positive psychology approach by systematically teaching patients to regularly use these techniques.  Outcome was evaluated in a single-subject design.