Biobehavioral Pain Laboratory: Current Studies

1. Evaluating Pediatric Integrative Medicine (PIM) services such as:
   • Acupuncture
   • Biofeedback
   • Mindfulness
   • Yoga
   • Massage
2. Investigating the use of digital therapeutics such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) to alleviate pain, decrease anxiety, and reduce use of sedations in:
   • Magnetic resonance imaging
   • Routine medical procedures such as anorectal manometries and transnasal endoscopies
3. Examining burnout and secondary traumatic stress in healthcare providers
4. Evaluating the effect of undergraduate mind-body courses

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Group for Teens with a Chronic Illness

What is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy?

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) teaches people how to manage their chronic illness in order to improve their quality of life. In this group, teens will learn to prioritize what is important to them and develop skills to cope with stress, anxiety and worries they may have related to their health condition.

Who is eligible to participate?

• Young adults ages 14-21 diagnosed with a chronic illness living in California.
• English-speaking participant with an English or Spanish-speaking guardian.
• Access to internet, a webcam, and a private space to participate in a web-based therapy group on Zoom with other teens.

When and how?

This group is part of a research study. Patients will be randomly placed in one of two groups: 1) Virtual ACT group or 2) Wait list. Patients in the first group will participate in a virtual ACT group once a week for six weeks. Patients on the wait list will participate in the virtual ACT group after a six-week waiting period. Patients and guardians will be asked to complete a series of questionnaires at baseline, before therapy sessions, and following the completion of the therapy group.

Please contact the study team if you are interested in participating: biobehavioralpainlab@chla.usc.edu.