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Published Online: 18 November 2020

Psychodynamic Psychotherapy for Patients With Functional Somatic Disorders and the Road to Recovery

Abstract

Patients with functional somatic disorders (FSDs) are commonly encountered in clinical practice and are often considered difficult to treat. This article summarizes recent advances in the understanding of these disorders that have opened new avenues for treatment. Findings concerning the role of three related key biobehavioral systems (attachment, mentalizing, and impairments in epistemic trust) that seem to be centrally involved in FSDs, as viewed from a psychodynamic perspective, are discussed as well as empirical evidence supporting the efficacy of psychodynamic psychotherapy for patients with FSDs. Finally, the basic treatment principles of dynamic interpersonal therapy, an integrative psychodynamic treatment adapted for patients with FSDs, are outlined through a description of the treatment of a woman with chronic widespread pain and irritable bowel syndrome.

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Information

Published In

Go to American Journal of Psychotherapy
Go to American Journal of Psychotherapy
American Journal of Psychotherapy
Pages: 125 - 130
PubMed: 33203227

History

Received: 29 April 2020
Revision received: 25 August 2020
Revision received: 30 September 2020
Accepted: 5 October 2020
Published online: 18 November 2020
Published in print: December 01, 2020

Keywords

  1. functional somatic disorder
  2. somatic symptom disorder
  3. mentalizing
  4. trauma
  5. psychodynamic
  6. psychoanalytic

Authors

Details

Patrick Luyten, Ph.D. [email protected]
Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium (Luyten); Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London (both authors).
Peter Fonagy, Ph.D.
Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium (Luyten); Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London (both authors).

Notes

Send correspondence to Dr. Luyten ([email protected]).

Competing Interests

The authors report no financial relationships with commercial interests.

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