Brief Psychodynamic Therapy in Somatic Symptom and Related Disorders: Evaluation of its Utility.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5944/rdp.v36i131.43900Keywords:
Systematic review, psychoanalysis, psychotherapy, somatization, clinical practice guideline, primary care, national health systemAbstract
In Spain, mental disorders of anxiety, depression or somatic symptom are common, with 49.2% of probable cases in Primary Care, involving annual costs equivalent to 2.2% of the gross domestic product or 22,778 million euros, of which 1,650 million or 35.36 euros per person, are devoted to somatic symptom disorders and related disorders. There is no current Clinical Practice Guideline (CPG) available for the treatment of somatic symptom disorders and related disorders. A systematic review is presented to assess the clinical utility of brief psychodynamic therapy in these disorders, as contemplated in the current CPG on adult depression. Through a search in the databases PsycArticles, PsycInfo, PsycTherapy, PSICODOC, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, MEDLINE and Web Of Science, 98 studies were initially identified, meeting 13 inclusion criteria. Of note were the significant reduction in somatic symptoms during the trials, with stable or increasing effects at follow-up and reduced health care use. These findings suggest the inclusion of this therapeutic alternative in a relevant CPG, which could lead to a reduction in costs for the National Health System in the management of these disorders.
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