Behavioural therapies for migraine
Behavioural therapies can be helpful for people with migraine. Examples include relaxation techniques, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and biofeedback.
How behavioural therapies may help migraine
Behavioural therapies are treatments that aim to change unhelpful patterns in how you think, feel and behave. They are often used to help with mental health conditions, such as anxiety and depression.
Migraine is not a mental health condition, and migraine is not caused by your feelings or emotions. But how you think and feel can have an impact on your migraine and how it affects you. This explains why behavioural therapies can be helpful in the treatment of migraine.
There are many ways that behavioural therapies might help with migraine. They may:
- help with negative feelings, worries and unhelpful thoughts you may have living with a complex, long-term health condition like migraine
- help to manage stress, which may reduce frequency and severity of your migraine attacks
- help you to understand and learn to control how your body responds during a migraine attack
- give you the tools to help you cope with symptoms of an attack, such as severe pain.
Who may benefit from behavioural therapies
Many people with migraine may benefit from behavioural therapies. They may be particularly helpful if you also have anxiety, stress or depression, alongside your migraine. But anyone may benefit from learning techniques to help you cope better with your migraine.
Behavioural therapies can be used alongside migraine medication. You may also be able to try them if you can’t take medication or are looking for an alternative.
Types of behavioural therapies
The main types of behavioural therapies with some evidence of helping with migraine are listed below. It’s important to note that not every technique or therapy we list here will work for everybody, and some have limited research. You may find it helpful to try a few different things and see what works for you.
Relaxation techniques can be particularly helpful if stress is a trigger for you. There are a number of techniques that can help with relaxation. These include the following.
- Breathing exercises. Examples include deep breathing and paced breathing exercises. Slowing down your breathing can help to calm your nervous system, which can help with stress.
- Progressive muscle relaxation. This is an exercise in which you focus on tensing and relaxing different muscle groups, one at a time. Its benefits in migraine may come through altering involuntary functions in your body – such as your breathing and heart rate.
- Guided imagery. In this technique, you focus your attention on a pleasurable or positive image in your mind – such as picturing a calm, safe place. It can help to distract you from pain associated with migraine.
- Autogenic training. This technique involves repeating phrases in your mind in order to create feelings of relaxation in your body. These may include warmth and heaviness in your hands and arms, or a slower heartbeat.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a type of therapy designed to change negative thought patterns and behaviours. It teaches you how your thoughts, beliefs and attitudes affect your feelings and actions. You learn coping skills for dealing with different situations. Some people find it can help both with managing stress or anxiety, and in learning how to cope better with migraine attacks.
With this technique, you learn to recognise the physical changes that happen in your body in response to a migraine attack. These might include changes in heart rate, breathing rate and muscle tension. The idea is that if you can start to recognise these changes, you may also be able to control them. There has been some evidence that biofeedback may help to reduce frequency, duration and impact of migraine attacks.
Mindfulness means focusing on the present moment. You learn how to pay attention to your actions, feelings and surroundings, in a calm and non-judgemental manner. It can help you to break away from negative thinking patterns and reactions. There are many mindfulness-related techniques and exercises. Some of the main ones include the following.
- A type of practice where you aim to reach a state of calm and stillness, through focusing on your breathing, thoughts and sensations.
- Body scanning. A technique that involves slowly move your attention through different parts of your body, focusing on your feelings in each area.
- Grounding techniques. These are techniques that help you focus on the present moment and cope with feelings of stress and anxiety. They can involve thinking about what you can hear, see or feel around you.
- This is a form of exercise that involves gentle movement and stretching. It often involving breathing exercises and mindfulness techniques too.
- Somatic tracking. This technique involves learning how to pay attention to your symptoms, but ‘retraining’ your brain, so your body doesn’t see them as a threat.
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is a structured programme specifically aimed at treating stress. It involves learning a number of these techniques.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is based around the principles of CBT and mindfulness. It involves learning to accept certain things – such as your pain, thoughts and emotions. At the same time, you commit to purposeful actions towards your goals. It aims to be a more flexible approach to CBT. There is less evidence on ACT in migraine. But there is good evidence for its use in chronic pain more widely. It may help how you deal with pain and negative thoughts caused by migraine.
How to access behavioural therapies
Check with your GP practice how to access to behavioural therapies like CBT, biofeedback and relaxation training in your area.
You can often refer yourself (self-refer) for some talking therapies, like CBT. There are different services that provide this throughout the UK. But sometimes you may need a referral from your GP or another health professional.
If you are already under the care of a neurologist or a specialist headache clinic, you can ask if there are therapists available within the team.
Other ways you can access therapy include through workplace schemes or charities.
You can also access different types of therapy privately. Make sure any therapist you choose is registered with a professional organisation.
The following registers are from organisations accredited by the Professional Standards Authority:
- The CBT register, run by the British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP) and The Association of Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (AREBT).
- The BACP register, run by the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy
- The NCPS directory, run by the National Counselling & Psychotherapy Society
You can also search for a registered psychologist on the Health & Care Professions Council register.
Self-help
You may be able to do learn how to do some of the techniques mentioned above yourself, through apps or guides on websites.
- Mind has information on simple relaxation and mindfulness exercises you can do by yourself
- Mind also maintains a library of trusted mental health and wellbeing apps: orchahealth.com
- Young Minds has useful information on helping a child with worry or anxiety
- NHS has self-help guides, tools and activities for mental health, including exercises for stress.
In some areas, you may also be able to access computerised CBT programmes through local NHS services.
About our information
This information has been written by The Migraine Trust Information and Support Services team. It has been reviewed by our panel of expert health professionals and people affected by migraine.
Our information has been awarded the PIF TICK quality mark for trustworthy health information.
If you have feedback on our information, please get in touch at: feedback@migrainetrust.org
Last reviewed: February 2026 | Next review due: February 2029
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