Cognitive behavioural therapy reduces pain and disability in adults with rheumatoid arthritis.

Is it true that cognitive behavioural therapy reduces pain and disability in adults with rheumatoid arthritis?

Unclear. A Cochrane review reports very small CBT benefits on pain and disability in mixed chronic pain, and one commentary notes CBT improved joint function and later disability in a rheumatoid arthritis trial; the rheumatoid-arthritis-specific citations retrieved give no outcome data. The evidence therefore covers only part of the claim and is not specific to rheumatoid arthritis pain.

Verdict: PARTIAL LEAN · 4 sources for, 0 against · Last checked 3 Oct 2026

The private library was unavailable for some searches in this check. Missing library results are not evidence against the claim.

Frontiers | Efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy for musculoskeletal pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis. (n.d.). frontiersin.org. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1705679/full

Psychosocial management of chronic pain in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: challenges and solutions - PMC Lock. (n.d.). pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. https://doi.org/10.2147/JPR.S83653

Sharpe, L. (2019). "First do no harm": Why don't we measure adverse events routinely in psychological treatment trials for people with chronic pain?. doi.org. https://doi.org/10.1097/j.pain.0000000000001771

Williams, A. C. d. C., Fisher, E., Hearn, L., & Eccleston, C. (2020). Psychological therapies for the management of chronic pain (excluding headache) in adults.. doi.org. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD007407.pub4