Die Psychotherapie bei der generalisierten Tendomyopathie (GTM)

Summary

Fibromyalgia is a typical psychosomatic disorder. Patients affected by this illness usually do not consider themselves as psychologically disturbed. They perceive their symptoms as indication of a physical disease and consider themselves very normal persons. Only projective tests can reveal the typical “psychosomatic” personality traits. This lack of insight, as well as a general resistance to such treatment modalities impede psychotherapeutic access to these patients. In the majority of cases it is therefore impossible to engage these patients in insight-orientated psychotherapy. Modified techniques using behavioral methods are more promising, especially if integrated into the somatic treatment with pain as the core issue. Other important ingredients of such a treatment are sufficient and easily understandable information about the disease, and instructions for better ways of coping with pain, and life in general. Finally, patients should be given adequate opportunities to talk about their problems. Through such contacts with psychotherapists, patients may find access to more intense individual psychotherapy. But even in this setting the therapist has to consider the particular situation of psychosomatic patients and modify his approach.