Medically unexplained pain (MUP) is known as a pain that lasts for 6 months, is sufficiently severe and causes significant distress that cannot be explained by a medical condition [1]. The widespread presence and side effects of MUP highlight the importance of developing effective psychological treatment guidelines for a treatment procedure. Preliminary research supports intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy (ISTDP) as being an effective treatment for MUP [2]. However, there are currently no known controlled trials on this subject. The present study proposed a randomized controlled trial that aimed at understanding the efficacy and longevity of ISTDP in comparison to mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) for MUP patients.

The ISTDP treatment consisted of twenty weekly, hour-long individual therapy sessions [3], and the MBSR was provided with eight weekly, 1.5-hour mindfulness-skills group training [4]. Patients in the treatment as usual (TAU) group did not receive any psychotherapy but continued to receive their typical treatments. Inclusion criteria were 18-50 years of age, at least one MUP with a duration of 6 months, a stable medication dose for at least 5 months, fluency in Farsi and provision of consent. The exclusion criteria were acute drug/alcohol abuse, psychotic or bipolar disorders, anorexia nervosa, acute suicidality and pregnancy.