The Effectiveness of Dialectical Behavior Therapy on Emotional Control and Pain Intensity in Women with Migraine Headaches

Seyyedbaglou, Elnaz; Esmaeilpour, Khalil; Mahmoud Alilou, Majid

doi:10.22034/rip.2025.520719.1100

The Effectiveness of Dialectical Behavior Therapy on Emotional Control and Pain Intensity in Women with Migraine Headaches

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Elnaz Seyyedbaglou ¹

Khalil Esmaeilpour ²

Majid Mahmoud Alilou ²

¹ MSc. in General Psychology, University of Tabriz,,Tabriz, Iran

² Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran

10.22034/rip.2025.520719.1100

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to examine the effectiveness of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) on emotional control and pain intensity in women with migraine headaches. This quasi-experimental research employed a pretest-posttest control group design. A total of 30 women diagnosed with migraine headaches, who had referred to a neurologist in Urmia (a city in Iran), were voluntarily recruited and randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. The experimental group received DBT-based interventions over eleven 60-minute sessions, while the control group did not receive any intervention. Data were collected using the McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ), the Emotion Control Questionnaire (ECQ2), and the Ahvaz Migraine Questionnaire (AMQ). Analysis of covariance revealed that DBT significantly reduced emotional inhibition, rumination, headache, and pain intensity in women with migraine headaches (P < 0.05). The findings suggest that Dialectical Behavior Therapy is an effective approach for improving emotional control and reducing pain severity in women with migraine headaches, and can be practically and efficiently utilized in this population.

Keywords

Dialectical Behavior Therapy

emotion control

migraine

pain intensity

Subjects