How Behavioral Therapies Help Prevent & Manage Migraine
Key Questions
- How do psychological or behavioral treatments for migraine, such as biofeedback and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), physiologically impact the body and brain?
- What are the core evidence-based behavioral treatments for migraine?
- Can behavioral therapies be used alone, or are they most effective when combined with medications?
- What is the functional model of migraine treatment? How does it differ from the traditional medical diagnostic model?
- How does the functional model identify factors contributing to migraine vulnerability and guide collaborative treatment planning?
- What evidence supports the effectiveness of CBT for migraine, and what benefits does it offer compared to pharmacological treatments?
- What are the risks of an avoidance-only approach to triggers? How does the “Learning to Cope” approach provide an alternative?
- How can common migraine triggers, like food or light, be accurately identified given the complex behavioral and biological interactions?
- How does hypervigilance affect the migraine cycle, and what practical strategies can break this cycle?
- What guidance is offered to individuals who have had negative or dismissive experiences with psychological treatments for chronic pain?
- How can people with migraine find clinicians with expertise in behavioral treatments?
Paul R. Martin, PhD
Adjunct Professor
Monash University & Griffith University
Paul R. Martin is an adjunct professor at Monash University and at Griffith University in Australia. He is a clinical and health psychologist who completed his training at the Universities of Bristol and Oxford. He has held a number of professional leadership positions, including national president of the Australian Behaviour Modification Association, and director of science and then president of the Australian Psychological Society.
His main research interest has been headache and migraine, with subsidiary interests in stress, depression (including postnatal depression), and social support. He has authored/edited eight books and 170 journal articles and chapters. In 2003, he received a Centenary Medal “for service to Australian society and medicine,” and in 2015, he received a Medal of the Order of Australia “for service to medicine in the field of psychology.”
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Related Talks for: Day 7 (2026)
Brain Fog & Dementia: The Science on the Cognitive Impacts of Migraine
Laura (Libby) Sebrow, PhD
Beyond Pills: Your Guide to Drug-Free Neuromodulation for Migraine
Stewart Tepper, MD, FAHS
Scents, Chemicals & the Migraine Brain
Gudrun Gossrau, MD
Migraine & Headache Australia is the only organization in Australia that has supported the more than 5 million Australians affected by headache and migraine for 20 years. Migraine & Headache Australia is a division of the Brain Foundation.
