Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Treatments for Adults With Rheumatoid Arthritis (The SARA Study)

Symptoms of RA include swelling, pain, stiffness, and redness in the joints. Over time, joint deformity, joint destruction, and loss of function can occur. Even simple tasks of daily living can become difficult to manage for people with RA. Current treatment aims to improve symptoms, but there is currently no cure for the disease. Dealing with the long-term pain and the unpredictability of RA can cause symptoms of depression, which is common among people with RA, especially early in the disease. Improving coping skills and minimizing emotional stress may help improve the overall health of people with RA. CBT is a form of psychotherapy that emphasizes the important role of thinking in how we feel and what we do. This type of therapy emphasizes that people can change the way they think to feel or act better even if the situation does not change. The purpose of this study is to evaluate two different types of CBT that focus on stress, pain, and depression responses in reducing disease activity and improving mental health of adults with RA.

This study will last about 15 months. Initially, all participants will fill out a diary report about their symptoms for a total of 30 days. Half of the study participants will undergo a 2- to 3-hour lab session that will include blood collection, vital signs measurements, joint exams, questionnaires, and an interview about symptoms and medical history. All participants will then be randomly assigned to one of the following three groups:

• People in Group 1 will participate in CBT for Pain (CBT-P), which will focus on altering thought processes as a way to cope more effectively with pain.
• People in Group 2 will participate in Mindfulness Medication for Emotion Regulation (MM-ER), a type of CBT that focuses on being more aware of one's emotions and regulating them.
• Group 3 participants will serve as controls and receive educational information on the causes of, course of, and treatment for RA.

Participants in all three groups will attend 2-hour weekly sessions of their treatment for 8 weeks. After treatment, all participants will undergo a 2- to 3-hour lab session that will include blood collection, vital signs measurements, joint exams, questionnaires, and an interview about symptoms and medical history. Participants will also fill out another daily diary report about their symptoms for 30 days. A follow-up questionnaire will be mailed to participants 6 months following the end of treatment.

Inclusion criteria

• Diagnosis of RA

Exclusion criteria

• Currently taking cyclical estrogen replacement therapy
• Diagnosis of lupus