High impact chronic pain affects about 1 in 10 adults. Accessing treatments that help can be challenging.

The mind and the body work together. You cannot separate your mind from your body. Thoughts and emotions affect the way your body experiences pain.

Cognitive behavioral therapy, or “CBT,” is a type of therapy that helps people find new ways to respond to, think about and cope with pain. Cognitive behavioral therapy for chronic pain has been proven to be effective in helping people with pain to feel better.

CBT for chronic pain can be especially hard to access due to shortages in trained health care providers and difficulties in getting to in-person services. Mobile health and telehealth services can provide this treatment to patients who may not otherwise be able to access it.

RESOLVE is a research study that is being funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to compare 3 different services to help patients learn skills to manage pain. These services include: 1) a printed resource guide, 2) access to an online training program, or 3) access to a training program with a live coach by phone or video. The skills taught in the online and phone/video programs are based on CBT.

The main goal of the RESOLVE study is to compare the 3 services to see how much each one helps to improve people’s pain and other related health outcomes.

The RESOLVE study will also assess the costs of the services and whether one improves people’s health more for a lower cost than the others.

About 2,400 people will take part in the RESOLVE research study.