Behavior therapy of chronic pain is marked by technical eclecticism, building upon procedures derived from different therapeutic directions that were developed in the behavioral tradition. These are Classical Behavior Therapy, Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Applied Behavior Analysis and Clinical Behavior Analysis. These 4 broad movements that represent the historical development and the paradigmatic plurality of behavior therapy, are used as theoretical axes to serve as directions of reference in the exposition of the options behavior therapy offers for the treatment of pain. In this literature review, divergences are identified between the 4 approaches, which have important implications for the therapist's practice.
Behavior therapy; chronic pain; theoretic approaches