DOI: 10.11648/j.ijpr.20260203.21 ISSN: 3070-1562

Pain and Psychology: Mechanisms, Interventions, and Future Perspectives from an Integrative Psychiatric View

Han Gao, Ming Ai
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Chronic pain is a highly prevalent and disabling condition, and the traditional biomedical model has limited explanatory and therapeutic value. Pain is increasingly understood as a biopsychosocial experience shaped by sensory, emotional, cognitive, and social factors. However, clinical assessment and treatment remain fragmented, and the role of psychiatry in integrated pain management is often underrecognized. This review aims to summarize the interaction mechanisms between pain and psychology, evaluate multimodal psychiatric and psychological interventions, and outline future directions for integrated pain care. To achieve this, relevant literature on pain mechanisms, psychotherapy, pharmacotherapy, neuromodulation, and digital health was reviewed and synthesized, with a focus on neuroimaging studies, clinical trials, and clinical guidelines. The findings indicate that neuroimaging studies have revealed shared brain networks and neuroplastic mechanisms between pain and emotion, providing a biological basis for psychological interventions. Major psychotherapeutic approaches—including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), emotion awareness and expression therapy (EAET), mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), and hypnotherapy—target cognitive, emotional, and behavioral processes. Pharmacotherapy and neuromodulation further expand treatment options. Integrated psychiatric interventions can effectively alleviate chronic pain and comorbid mood symptoms, although challenges remain, including imperfect assessment, opioid-related risks, limited interdisciplinary collaboration, and individual heterogeneity. Future pain management should integrate neuroimaging, genetics, and digital health technologies to support individualized treatment, promote interdisciplinary collaboration, and shift from “treating pain” to “treating the person,” ultimately improving patients’ overall quality of life.

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