Psychosocial Treatments for Multiple Unexplained Physical Symptoms

Objective Patients presenting with multiple medically unexplained physical symptoms, termed polysymptomatic somatizers, often incur excessive healthcare charges and fail to respond to standard medical treatment. The present article reviews the literature assessing the efficacy of psychosocial treatments for polysymptomatic somatizers. Methods Relevant articles were identified by scanning Medline and PsychLit. Thirty-four randomized, controlled studies were located. Whenever possible results from each study were transformed into effect sizes. An analysis of the efficacy of the psychotherapeutic approaches is provided. Results Various psychosocial interventions have been investigated with polysymptomatic somatizers. Although the majority of studies suggest psychosocial treatments benefit this population, the literature is tarnished by methodological shortcomings. Effect sizes are modest at best. Long-term improvement has been demonstrated in fewer than one-quarter of the trials. Conclusions Although seemingly beneficial, psychosocial treatments have not yet been shown to have a lasting and clinically meaningful influence on the physical complaints of polysymptomatic somatizers

MEDLINE · Physical therapy · Psychiatry · Psychological intervention · Psychosocial · Public health · Quality of Life Research · Randomized controlled trial · Clinical Psychology · Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Research · Medicine · Myofascial pain diagnosis and treatment · Nursing · Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments

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