***This workshop has been cancelled. Workshop 4 registrants can chose another workshop during registration on Thursday, 23 October***
Chronic pain is one of the most frequent causes of sick leave and disability. It includes medical conditions such as fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, and chronic low back pain. Treatments of this condition consider structural and functional alterations as well as psychological and social factors. While cognitive behavioural interventions (CBT) have been successful in treating chronic pain (Hoffman et al., 2007; Glombiewski, 2010), effect sizes are still modest and most studies do not include long-term follow-ups. One possible way to improve assessment and obtain longer-term, better therapeutic outcomes of CBT intervention programs for chronic pain is to include new therapeutic components and to promote review of the therapy sessions outside the clinic, both during the therapy program and once the program is finished. This can be achieved by using information and communication technologies (ICT). This workshop presents ICT applications developed by our team, Labpsitec (Universitat Jaume I and Universidad de Valencia), with the support of Labhuman (Universidad Politecnica de Valencia), for the improvement of assessment protocols and psychological treatments for chronic pain. We have developed a VR component to support a therapeutic component which aims to promote positive emotions and motivation to enhance the activity pacing. We also have developed an Ecological Momentary Assessment application that runs in smartphones for the assessment of key variables in chronic pain. Finally, we have developed an Internet-based intervention to promote the possibility of systematic training in self-management strategies. Patients learn and practice therapeutic strategies in their natural environment and on their own, promoting self-management and self-efficacy. These applications have been developed and tested within different projects with a joined effort of our team and other teams sited at Hospital General de Castellon (Dr. Belmonte) and Hospital Arnau de Vilanova de Valencia (Dr. Domenech).
