ISTDP for Patients with Treatment Resistance PPS

NCT ID: NCT06682104

Last Updated: 2024-11-12

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 40 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2025-02-01
• Study Completion Date: 2025-12-31

Brief Summary

Intensive Short-Term Psychodynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP) for Treatment-Resistant Persistent Physical Symptoms is a therapeutic approach designed to help patients whose physical symptoms have not responded to traditional medical or psychological treatments. These persistent physical symptoms (PPS) often include conditions such as chronic pain, fatigue, or gastrointestinal issues, where a psychological component may be involved.

ISTDP focuses on identifying and addressing unconscious emotional conflicts, which are thought to contribute to or exacerbate physical symptoms. The therapy encourages patients to recognize and express repressed emotions, such as anger, sadness, or fear, which may manifest somatically if left unresolved.

For patients with treatment-resistant PPS, ISTDP offers a focused, time-limited intervention aimed at breaking the cycle of emotional suppression and physical symptomatology. The method involves intense therapeutic engagement, fostering a direct experience of emotions in a controlled environment. Through this process, patients often gain emotional awareness and experience symptom relief.

Research on ISTDP in this population suggests that it can effectively reduce the severity of physical symptoms, improve emotional well-being, and enhance overall functioning when other treatments have not yielded significant results.

For patients with treatment-resistant PPS, ISTDP offers a focused, time-limited intervention aimed at breaking the cycle of emotional suppression and physical symptomatology. The method involves intense therapeutic engagement, fostering a direct experience of emotions in a controlled environment. Through this process, patients often gain emotional awareness and experience symptom relief.

Research on ISTDP for this population suggests that it can be effective in reducing the severity of physical symptoms, improving emotional well-being, and increasing overall functioning when other treatments have failed to produce significant results.

Conditions

Somatic Symptom Disorder; Persistent Physical Symptoms; Functional Somatic Syndrome; Functional Somatic Disorder; Medically Unexplained Symptoms

Study Design

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

Study Groups

Individual intensive short term psychodynamic therapy

The Individual Intensive Short-Term Psychodynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP) arm for patients with Persistent Physical Symptoms (PPS) focuses on addressing the underlying emotional and psychological factors contributing to these chronic symptoms. In this treatment arm, participants engage in structured, one-on-one psychotherapy sessions with a trained ISTDP therapist.

Group Type: OTHER

Individual intensive short term psychodynamic therapy

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

ISTDP aims to help patients explore and process unconscious emotions, particularly those linked to past trauma or unresolved conflicts, that may be contributing to their physical symptoms. Patients are guided to identify and express repressed feelings such as anger, grief, or fear. The therapist actively engages the patient in a focused and intensive manner, helping them to recognize emotional defenses, break through resistance, and experience these emotions directly in the therapeutic setting.

Interventions

Individual intensive short term psychodynamic therapy

ISTDP aims to help patients explore and process unconscious emotions, particularly those linked to past trauma or unresolved conflicts, that may be contributing to their physical symptoms. Patients are guided to identify and express repressed feelings such as anger, grief, or fear. The therapist actively engages the patient in a focused and intensive manner, helping them to recognize emotional defenses, break through resistance, and experience these emotions directly in the therapeutic setting.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• The participant certifies that they have undergone a medical evaluation for their physical symptoms.
• The participant rates either moderate distress from physical symptoms on the PHQ-15 form (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 1 month.
• Participants must meet the criteria for non-response/treatment resistance, i.e., no reliable change in PHQ-15.

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 allowed as long as the supportive therapy does not occur more than once a month.
• Participants do not have sufficient proficiency in the Swedish language.
• Somatic symptoms is judged to be need further medically evaluation or treatment.

• 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

Locations

Stockholm University

Stockholm, Stockholm County, Sweden

Countries

Sweden

Other Identifiers

KOSMOS3-Individual ISTPD

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id