Behavioral Medicine Interventions for Headaches

Approximately 90% of the U.S. population experiences occasional headache pain with 23 million headache sufferers experiencing severe migraines. The experience of headache, especially migraine, often results in pain, disability, and psychological distress for the individual. Among migraine sufferers, over 80% experience some degree of headache-related disability. Migraine alone accounts for an estimated 157 million days lost from work. In addition, there are high rates of co-morbid psychiatric disorders among individuals with headaches such as depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Mental health professionals can play a key role in the multidisciplinary approach to headache treatment. Behavioral Medicine techniques such as biofeedback, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and relaxation have proven efficacious, either alone or in combination with pharmacotherapy, to manage co-morbid psychiatric disorders, address treatment adherence problems, and modify some risk factors for the progression of headaches. This course provides evidence-based clinical behavioral medicine interventions for this patient population. The principal types of headaches and their causes are described and biobehavioral variables are discussed. Clinical assessment is addressed and elements of nonpharmacological behavioral medicine alternative treatment of headache are presented, along with specific ways to coordinate/integrate care with providers of pharmacological treatment.