Group Psychotherapy of Patients with Somatic Illnesses and Alexithymia

Apfel-Savitz, Roberta; Silverman, Daniel; Bennett, Michael I.

doi:10.1159/000287078

Cited by 19 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 7 publications

(3 reference statements)

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“…Group therapy, either as an adjunct to individual therapy or as the sole therapeutic modality, has been used by a number of workers (54)(55)(56). Good outcome studies of group therapy are not available, but Ford and Long (55) noted that patients can make "modest gains" if the group remains together for a long period of time and if therapists are patient and do not force interpretations.…”

Section: Treatment Considerationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Review of the Alexithymia Concept

Lesser

1981

Psychosomatic Medicine

226

110

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Alexithymia is a term meaning "no words for mood." It has been applied to patients who have marked difficulty in verbal expression of emotions and limited ability to use fantasy. These patients often have psychosomatic illnesses and tend to do poorly in traditional dynamic psychotherapy. The concept is discussed from an historical perspective and its current status in the understanding of psychosomatic illness is assessed. The alexithymia literature is critically reviewed with a focus on definition, measurement, etiological speculations, and the relevance of alexithymia to the psychotherapeutic process. The alexithymic concept has much to offer heuristically, but most of the literature to date has been anecdotal and theoretical, with few research investigations. Suggestions are made for future research that could serve to validate the concept and provide answers to questions regarding symptom formation and psychological problems.

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Section: Treatment Considerationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Review of the Alexithymia Concept

Lesser

1981

Psychosomatic Medicine

226

110

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“…Most previous studies examining the role of alexithymia in therapy have involved individual therapeutic interventions. However, group therapy has been considered an effective format for patients with alexithymia as groups provide a supportive environment for patients to maximise their opportunity to learn about emotions through a wide range of interpersonal situations (Apfel-Savitz, Silverman, & Bennett, 1977;Swiller, 1988). Patients with alexithymia have also been shown to prefer group therapy compared to individual therapy (Ogrodniczuk, Piper, Joyce, & Abbass, 2009), which may enhance their engagement in treatment and improve therapeutic outcomes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Alexithymia stability and therapeutic outcome in an Australian psychiatric outpatient sample

McGillivray

Becerra

Harms

2019

Clinical Psychologist

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Background The aim was to examine the role of alexithymia on therapeutic outcome in a naturalistic group therapy setting, as well as the effectiveness of cognitive‐behavioural group therapy in reducing alexithymia. Methods A pre‐test/post‐test research design was used to examine alexithymia before and after treatment. Pre‐ and post‐alexithymia and psychological distress scores from routinely administered measures were retrieved for 61 psychiatric outpatients referred for group therapy at a mental health facility. Correlation, repeated measures t‐test, and regression analyses were conducted to explore the data. Results Baseline alexithymia was not a significant predictor of group therapy outcome (change in psychological distress) once baseline psychological distress was controlled for. There was a small but significant reduction in mean‐level alexithymia scores over the course of therapy. A high level of relative stability was observed in alexithymia scores, independent of change in psychological distress severity. A reduction in alexithymia during treatment was a significant predictor of a reduction in psychological distress over the course of therapy. Conclusions High baseline alexithymia does not present a therapeutic disadvantage for patients receiving cognitive‐behavioural group therapy. However, cognitive‐behavioural group therapy is somewhat effective at improving alexithymic features, and this improvement can provide symptom relief by the end of treatment. Thus, it may advantageous for clinicians to treat alexithymia in order to enhance therapeutic intervention.

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“…Unfortunately, the specific techniques used in the therapy were not described, and no measures of health status were administered. According to Apfel-Savitz et al [18], group therapy for alexithymic patients can be enhanced by special techniques such as guided teaching, meditation, and visual feedback provided by videotape. Swiller [19]emphasizes that the group therapist must provide a safe, supportive, and empathic setting which allows for candid feedback to patients about their emotional constriction and their efforts to become more emotionally aware and expressive.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the Benefits of Group Psychotherapy in Reducing Alexithymia in Coronary Heart Disease Patients: A Preliminary Study

Beresnevaitė¹

2000

Psychother Psychosom

162

112

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Background: Although there is preliminary evidence that alexithymia may influence the course of coronary heart disease (CHD), there are no studies exploring attempts to modify alexithymic characteristics in cardiac patients. Method: Twenty post-myocardial infarction (MI) patients (19 men and 1 woman) were placed in a treatment group, which received weekly group psychotherapy for 4 months. Seventeen post-MI patients (16 men and 1 woman) were placed in a comparison group which received two educational sessions over a period of 1 month. All subjects completed the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS) before the start of group therapy, at the end of the 4-month period, and in follow-up assessment after 6-month, 1-year, and 2-year intervals. Results: In the psychotherapy treatment group, there was a significant reduction in the mean TAS score following group therapy, which was maintained over the 2-year follow-up period. In the educational group, there were no significant changes in mean TAS scores between the initial testing and any of the follow-up intervals. On an individual basis, a decrease to a lower level of TAS scores occurred in a higher percentage of patients in the treatment group than in the educational group. Over the 2-year follow-up period, patients with decreased alexithymia following group therapy experienced fewer cardiac events (reinfarction, sudden cardiac death, or rehospitalization for rhythm disorder or severe angina) than patients whose alexithymia remained unchanged. Conclusions: The results indicate that group psychotherapy is able to decrease alexithymia and that for many patients this change can be maintained for at least 2 years. A reduction in the degree of alexithymia seems to influence favorably the clinical course of CHD.

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Group Psychotherapy of Patients with Somatic Illnesses and Alexithymia

Cited by 19 publications

References 7 publications

A Review of the Alexithymia Concept

A Review of the Alexithymia Concept

Alexithymia stability and therapeutic outcome in an Australian psychiatric outpatient sample

Exploring the Benefits of Group Psychotherapy in Reducing Alexithymia in Coronary Heart Disease Patients: A Preliminary Study

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