Somato-psychosocial therapy as an integrated general concept for the treatment of psychosomatic patients. A study on the success of psychosomatic inpatient treatment

Abstract

Following an introductory of patient psychotherapy, a medium-term six week concept of inpatient psychosomatic therapy is presented at the Krankenhaus der Barmherzigen Schwestern (Vienna). The basic bio-psychosocial disease model is reflected in the medical, psychotherapeutic and social concept of the therapy department as an interactive process. The present study attempts to investigate changes following inpatient psychoanalytically orientated psychosomatic therapy with the aid of psychodiagnostic evaluation instruments (FAPK, GBB). For this purpose, within a period of slightly more than one year, 173 patients were studied, being tested on the beginning and at the end of their si^eek inpatient admission. On the basis of the results of both measuring instruments, the patients with a diagnosis of eating disorders, depression and functional syndromes profit most from the treatment offered. While conflicting events of these patients with a neurotic disturbed relationship to reality significantly changed after treatment, and also resulted in significantly reduced general symptoms, patients with a diagnosis of Crohn’s disease or colitis ulcerosa, for the time being, according to the therapeutic objective set, could be sensitised to emotional conflicting events or awareness and felt significantly less exhausted. For patients with psychosomatic diseases in the narrower sense (involving organic lesions) the treatment offered seems to have effected a significant improvement in general health. A significant improvement was observed in the field of tendencies to exhaustion, and symptom load.

Keywords:
Inpatient psychotherapy, concept of inpatient psychosomatic therapy, regression/progression, outcome research, FAPK, GBB, evaluation, questionnaires.