Psychotherapy and psychosomatics
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Psychother Psychosom · Jan 2013
Randomized Controlled TrialSpecific collaborative group intervention for patients with medically unexplained symptoms in general practice: a cluster randomized controlled trial.
Patients with medically unexplained symptoms (MUS) are frequent in primary care and substantially impaired in their quality of life (QoL). Specific training of general practitioners (GPs) alone did not demonstrate sustained improvement at later follow-up in current reviews. We evaluated a collaborative group intervention. ⋯ Compared to pure GP training, collaborative group intervention achieved a progressive, clinically meaningful improvement in mental but not physical QoL. It could bridge gaps between general practice and mental health care.
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Psychother Psychosom · Jan 2013
Randomized Controlled TrialAttentional bias modification in posttraumatic stress disorder: a randomized controlled trial.
Attentional bias modification (ABM) is a new treatment for anxiety disorders. Three randomized controlled clinical trials have shown positive effects of ABM in social anxiety disorder and generalized anxiety disorder. This study investigated the efficacy of ABM in outpatients with chronic posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). ⋯ This version of ABM is not an effective treatment of PTSD.
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Psychother Psychosom · Jan 2013
Randomized Controlled TrialMindfulness-based cognitive therapy for patients with medically unexplained symptoms: a randomized controlled trial.
Patients with medically unexplained symptoms make heavy demands on the health care system. An offer for psychological treatment is often declined. There is a need for acceptable and effective treatments. We assessed the acceptability and effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) for patients with persistent medically unexplained symptoms. ⋯ MBCT was feasible for frequently attending patients with persistent medically unexplained symptoms in primary care. Although MBCT did not lead to a significant difference in general health status between the two groups, it did result in a significant improvement in mental functioning.
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Psychother Psychosom · Jan 2013
Randomized Controlled TrialMindfulness-oriented recovery enhancement reduces pain attentional bias in chronic pain patients.
Chronic pain involves hypervigilance for pain-related stimuli. Selective attention to pain-related stimuli, known as pain attentional bias (AB), can exacerbate chronic pain, prolong suffering, and undermine quality of life. The aim of this study was to determine if a multimodal mindfulness-oriented intervention could significantly reduce pain AB among chronic pain patients receiving opioid analgesics. ⋯ Study findings provide the first indication that a mindfulness-oriented intervention may reduce pain AB among adults suffering from chronic pain. Given the magnitude of chronic pain in postindustrial societies, coupled with the dramatic escalation in prescription opioid misuse, future studies should evaluate MORE as a nonpharmacological means of addressing factors linked with chronic pain.