Skip to main content

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychol.
Sec. Health Psychology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1422894

Perceived benefits and limitations of a psychoeducation program for patients with fibromyalgia: An interpretative phenomenological analysis

Provisionally accepted
Silvia Di Bonaventura Silvia Di Bonaventura 1Raúl Ferrer-Peña Raúl Ferrer-Peña 2*JOAQUIN PARDO MONTERO JOAQUIN PARDO MONTERO 2Josue Fernandez-Carnero Josue Fernandez-Carnero 1Roy La Touche Roy La Touche 2
  • 1 Faculty of Health Sciences, Rey Juan Carlos University, Alcorcón, Madrid, Spain
  • 2 Department of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Health, La Salle University Center, Madrid, Spain

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    To analyze the perceived benefits and limitations of a pain psychoeducation program as a non-pharmacological treatment for patients with fibromyalgia. Methods: An interpretative phenomenological analysis was applied to analyze the subjective experiences of 11 patients with fibromyalgia who participated in a pain psychoeducation program. This program includes educational sessions that address pain understanding, coping strategies, and relaxation techniques. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, transcribed, and analyzed using ATLAS.ti software. Results: Patients reported significant improvements in cognitivefunctional capacity and socio-emotional ability, including better disease understanding and management, emotional stability, and interpersonal relationships. Despite these benefits, they identified limitations in program individualization and insufficient coverage of certain topics, such as sexual health and legal aspects of disability. Enhanced self-management skills were evident, with observed shifts in disease perception and coping strategies. Conclusions: The psychoeducation program was viewed positively, influencing functional, cognitive, and emotional enhancements. Nonetheless, the need for increased program personalization and expanded socio-economic support was noted. Future research should focus on the long-term impacts of psychoeducation and the feasibility of tailored interventions.

    Keywords: Fibromyalgia, Psychoeducation, Pain Management, Non-pharmacological treatment, interpretative phenomenological analysis

    Received: 24 Apr 2024; Accepted: 17 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Di Bonaventura, Ferrer-Peña, PARDO MONTERO, Fernandez-Carnero and La Touche. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Raúl Ferrer-Peña, Department of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Health, La Salle University Center, Madrid, Spain

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.