Manualisierte psycho- dynamisch-interaktionelle Gruppentherapie

20–40% of the patients in general practices, as well as in different departments in hospitals, suffer from somatoform diseases. 70% of these patients have pain as their main complaint. The present treatment manual is the first disease-specific, psychodynamically oriented group-treatment for these patients. Compared to other psychodynamic treatment settings this therapy is a short and cost-effective approach to treat these patients. It is based on a so-called psychodynamic-interactional group psychotherapy and focuses on disease-specific parts of the problem, as well as on psychic and interpersonal problems resulting from adverse childhood experiences. Over a period of six months 7 to 9 patients are treated in 40 group therapy sessions. Two weekly meetings are held during the first four months and one weekly session is held during the last two months. The concept contains psycho-educational elements, the discussion and formulation of individual treatment goals as well as work with a psychodynamic and relationship- oriented treatment focus. The efficacy of this concept is planned to be evaluated in a randomised, controlled clinical trial, including two treatment conditions and one control condition. One of the two treatment conditions is, beneath the concept already discussed, a cognitive behavioural group therapy.