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Group therapy for somatization disorders in primary care: maintenance of treatment goals of short cognitive‐behavioural treatment one‐and‐a‐half‐year follow‐up
Author(s) -
Lidbeck J.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
acta psychiatrica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.849
H-Index - 146
eISSN - 1600-0447
pISSN - 0001-690X
DOI - 10.1034/j.1600-0447.2003.00048.x
Subject(s) - somatization , psychosocial , anxiety , cognition , depression (economics) , psychology , psychiatry , clinical psychology , cognitive therapy , somatization disorder , medicine , economics , macroeconomics
Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the maintenance of treatment goals of a short cognitive‐behavioural group treatment programme for the management of somatization disorders in primary care. Method: In a previous controlled 6‐month follow‐up study, patients with somatization disorders ( n =32) improved with respect to illness and somatic preoccupation, hypochondriasis, and medication usage. In the present report the same group of patients were also investigated one‐and‐a‐half year after initial treatment. Results: The long‐term follow‐up manifested maintained improvement with respect to hypochondriasis. There was additional reduction of anxiety and psychosocial preoccupation, whereas somatization and depression‐anxiety scores improved progressively. Conclusion: A short cognitive‐behavioural group treatment of psychosomatic patients can be useful in primary care and may manifest maintained or progressive beneficial outcome.