Complementary and alternative medicine therapies (CAM) are in increasing use for the treatment of chronic pain in both children and adults and are often shown to benefit patients by teaching effective pain-management skills. However, not all patients expect or perceive benefit from CAM therapies and some may fail to benefit through lack of adherence. This study examines the CAM therapy experiences of 50 children (ages 10-17) seen in a tertiary pediatric care clinic for recurrent pain. All children were given the names of recommended CAM therapists at the initial intake appointment. These included an acupuncturist, a biofeedback trainer, hypnotherapist, massage therapist, physical therapist, and Iyengar yoga teacher. The children and their parents were also asked to complete a questionnaire which recorded their expectations of benefit from several types of therapies, including CAM. Semi-structured interviews were conducted at baseline and at six months after intake and the children reported their experiences in their own words. These interviews were coded and analyzed using the constant comparative method of grounded theory. Initial analysis of 36 interviews showed that 22% described themselves as “better”, having been helped by medication; 33% described themselves as “better”, having been helped by CAM therapy or CAM therapy and medication; and 45% described themselves as “the same” or “worse”, having either not tried a CAM therapy or having begun therapy but not completed the recommended program. Children also discussed their perceptions of benefit, or lack of benefit, from participation in CAM therapies. The relative roles of therapy cost, parental support, expectation of benefit, interest in learning new coping skills, and other factors as deterrents to successful outcomes will be analyzed and presented.