Emotional Awareness and Expression Therapy for Patients With Persistent Physical Symptoms in Routine Psychiatric Care: A Pilot Study

NCT ID: NCT06631911

Last Updated: 2024-10-08

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 50 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2024-11-01
• Study Completion Date: 2025-12-31

Brief Summary

Emotional Awareness and Expression Therapy (EAET) has emerged as a promising approach for addressing persistent physical symptoms (PPS). Investigating EAET within the context of routine psychiatric care is crucial for several reasons:

Many patients with PPS experience significant distress and functional impairment, yet traditional medical treatments often fail to provide adequate relief. Integrating EAET into routine care could offer a valuable therapeutic option for this population.

Preliminary studies suggest that EAET can lead to significant reductions in pain and other somatic symptoms. Investigating its effectiveness in routine care settings could enhance treatment outcomes for patients who have not responded to conventional therapies.

There is often a disconnect between mental health and physical health treatment in routine care. Investigating EAET can help bridge this gap, fostering collaboration between mental health professionals and primary care providers to address the complexities of patients' health issues.

Conditions

Persistent Physical Symptoms (PPS); Functional Somatic Disorder; Functional Somatic Syndromes; Somatic Symptom Disorder (DSM-5)

Study Design

• Allocation Method: NA
• Intervention Model: SINGLE_GROUP
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

Emotional Awareness and Expression Therapy

Please see description for intervention

Group Type: OTHER

Emotional Awareness and Expression Therapy (EAET)

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Emotional Awareness and Expression Therapy (EAET) is a manualized, short-term psychodynamic therapy that, in this instance, is delivered in a group format.

The core of Emotional Awareness and Expression Therapy (EAET) involves helping individuals identify, understand, and express their emotions in a therapeutic setting. The therapy emphasizes the connection between unprocessed emotions and physical symptoms, encouraging participants to explore the emotional underpinnings of their distress. Through guided discussions, psychoeducation, and expressive exercises, participants learn to recognize patterns of emotional avoidance, develop self-compassion, and improve interpersonal communication. This process aims to reduce somatic symptoms and enhance overall emotional well-being by fostering a greater awareness of emotional experiences.

Interventions

Emotional Awareness and Expression Therapy (EAET)

Emotional Awareness and Expression Therapy (EAET) is a manualized, short-term psychodynamic therapy that, in this instance, is delivered in a group format.

The core of Emotional Awareness and Expression Therapy (EAET) involves helping individuals identify, understand, and express their emotions in a therapeutic setting. The therapy emphasizes the connection between unprocessed emotions and physical symptoms, encouraging participants to explore the emotional underpinnings of their distress. Through guided discussions, psychoeducation, and expressive exercises, participants learn to recognize patterns of emotional avoidance, develop self-compassion, and improve interpersonal communication. This process aims to reduce somatic symptoms and enhance overall emotional well-being by fostering a greater awareness of emotional experiences.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• The participant certifies that they have undergone a medical assessment for their physical symptoms (see separate certificate).
• The participant rates either moderate distress from physical symptoms on the PHQ-15 questionnaire (over 10 points) or significant distress from a single physical symptom (at least 2 points for that symptom).
• The participant expresses interest in exploring whether emotional factors, such as stress, may contribute to their symptom profile.
• Any prescribed medications must have been stable for at least one month.

Exclusion Criteria

• Participants suffer from ongoing substance abuse (alcohol or drugs) or are assessed to have severe mental health issues (psychotic disorders, moderate to high suicide risk, antisocial personality disorder, etc.).
• Participants are currently prescribed medications that are clearly addictive and sedative in nature (e.g., benzodiazepines).
• Participants are involved in other psychological treatments focused on physical symptoms. However, other psychological treatments are permitted as long as the supportive therapy does not occur more than once a month.
• Participants do not have sufficient proficiency in the Swedish language.

Please note that it is the chief physician of each respective research sponsor who, based on collected anamnesis and self-assessment information, makes the final decision regarding whether a participant should be included or excluded from the research project.

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

Daniel Maroti

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Daniel Maroti

PhD, principal investigator

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Daniel Maroti, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Stockholm University

Central Contacts

Daniel L A Maroti, PhD

Role: CONTACT

daniel.maroti@su.se

46738028474

Other Identifiers

5631

Identifier Type: OTHER

Identifier Source: secondary_id

1111

Identifier Type: OTHER_GRANT

Identifier Source: secondary_id

EAET for PPS: a pilot study

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id