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• The control of chronic noncancer pain is better managed through an integrative view. • Psychoeducation may lead patients to better coping through positive adaptive behaviors. • The active role of patients in their care may contribute to better clinical management. • Psychoeducation may allow better control of pain and reduction in the opioids use. • The use of strong opioids may affect the patient's coping and self-care skills. To investigate the effectiveness of a psychoeducational intervention on pain intensity management in musculoskeletal chronic noncancer pain and to identify relevant variables and preliminary data to allow the design of a randomized controlled trial. Two arms parallel randomized pilot study. Participants were randomly assigned to a psychoeducational intervention or a control group without intervention. Pain intensity, quality of life, and opioid use were assessed at baseline and at a 1-month follow-up. The sample consisted of 37 adult patients (intervention group: 19; control group: 18). A significant reduction in pain intensity measured by the Verbal Numerical Rating Scale (p =.02, Cohen's d = 0.57) and improvement in quality of life measured by EuroQol-5D questionnaire (p =.04) were observed in the intervention group compared to the control. This improvement on pain intensity was greater in patients without strong opioid treatment (p =.01, Cohen's d = 1.36). Eighty percent of the strong opioids users in the intervention group reduced their consumption, without changes in the control group. These findings provide promising support for the beneficial effects of psychoeducation on the intensity of noncancer chronic musculoskeletal pain. Based on the results, future randomized controlled trials are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]