Empathy in couples can alleviate chronic pain

A new collaborative review on empathy in chronic pain by Karolin Teichmüller at Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU) was published in PAIN Reports.

The review summizes how partner responses, like empathy and validation, interact with chronic pain and relationship outcomes in couples where one partner has chronic pain. Across eleven studies empathy was associated with improved pain-related outcomes, particularly physical functionality. Moreover, empathy relates to better relationship outcomes, for example buffering the association between depressive symptoms and marital quality. Invalidation (talking problems down) had a negative impact, while solicitousness (caring) showed no adverse effects. The authors conclude that encouraging empathy and reducing invalidation in clinical settings could improve pain management.

Congratulations for this great work!

Teichmüller, Karolina,*; Galstyan, Hripsimea; Bas, Lisa M.a,b; Kindl, Gudrunc; Kanske, Philippd,e; Rittner, Heike L.c; Reiter, Andrea M.F.a,b. Empathy and validation in chronic pain couples: a systematic review. PAIN Reports 10(6):e1343, December 2025. | DOI: 10.1097/PR9.0000000000001343