Group therapy for somatization disorders in primary care: maintenance of treatment goals of short cognitive-behavioural treatment one-and-a-half-year follow-up.

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.