For adults with migraine, migrainespecific, integrative cognitive behavioral therapy (miCBT) and relaxation training (RLX) are both beneficial, according to a study published in Frontiers in Neurology. Timo Klan, PhD, and colleagues conducted a three-armed, open-label trial in 121 adults with migraine assigned to miCBT that combined several approaches (trigger and stress management, coping with fear of attacks, relaxation training), a single behavioral approach (RLX) as an active control group, and a waiting-list control group (WLC). Participants who completed WLC were randomly assigned to the treatment groups. Significantly stronger pre-post improvement in self efficacy was seen in both treatment groups compared with WLC in mixed-model analyses of the intention-to-treat sample; there were no other significant between-group differences. In followup analyses, significant within-group improvements were seen from baseline to 12 month follow-up for both treatments in all primary outcomes: headache days, headache-related disability, emotional distress, and self-efficacy.
