Process-based therapy in an interdisciplinary framework for pain recovery: from psychological processes to interdisciplinary processes

A new psychosocial approach has recently been proposed to overcome the limitations and challenges of psychological pain therapy research. Process-based Therapy is an intervention model focusing on therapeutic processes, based on a testable theory, which promotes individualisation by adopting a dynamic and timely approach to the selection of intervention treatment procedures. Although this framework already incorporates a biopsychosocial foundation, its application has so far been primarily confined to psychological intervention. However, the use of an interdisciplinary team approach has been well-established as both effective and cost-efficient in addressing the multiple dimensions of pain. Building upon the biopsychosocial principles of Process-based Therapy, the present proposal introduces an interdisciplinary enhancement—Process-based Interdisciplinary Therapy (PbIT)—to extend its implementation to coordinated, multi-domain pain recovery. Socio-demographic and mediating variables, together with specific therapeutic strategies and interventions, are key elements to integrate all biopsychosocial factors in a therapeutic context. The interdisciplinary approach presented provides an expanded Process-based Therapy that further operationalises and reinforces the biopsychosocial model of pain.