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Psychotherapy program as an additional treatment method for patients with rheumatoid arthritis, multidisciplinary approach

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 July 2023

A. Matic ,
A. Gudelj Gračanin ,
I. Tonković ,
L. Mužinić Marinić  and
J. Morović-Vergles
A. Matic*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychotherapy, University Psychiatric Hospital Vrapče
A. Gudelj Gračanin
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Immunology, Rheumatology and Pulmonology, Clinical Hospital “Sv. Duh”
I. Tonković
Affiliation:
retired
L. Mužinić Marinić
Affiliation:
Department of psychiatry
J. Morović-Vergles
Affiliation:
Department of Immunology, Allergology and Rheumatology, University Hospital Dubrava, Zagreb, Croatia
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

Chronic diseases, with the development of medicine, the extension of life expectancy and the reduction of dying from infectious diseases, have become a leading public health problem. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, progressive, multifactorial, autoimmune, systemic inflammatory disease of connective tissue, and sufferers are at greater risk of developing psychological disorders, depression and anxiety being the most common. Optimal treatment of RA should include periodic screening of somatic and psychological comorbid disorders and diseases with a multidisciplinary approach to treatment.

Objectives

Presenting a psychotherapy program as an additional method of treating patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Methods

In University Hospital Dubrava, a psychotherapy program was organized for patients with rheumatoid arthritis, which took place once a week for 12 weeks, and consisted of autogenic training, education about the disease and group psychotherapy. The program would begin with autogenic training held by a clinical psychologist, and the main goal was to achieve psychophysical relaxation. This was followed by an education on rheumatoid arthritis, in which a clinical rheumatologist was involved, and the goal was to provide basic information about the disease, thereby achieving better cooperation with health care personnel and a more active role in their own treatment. In the end, there would be a time-limited dynamic group psychotherapy conducted by a psychiatrist/psychotherapist with the basic therapeutic effects of group therapy.

Results

As a result of a 12-week psychotherapy program for somatic patients, which was held in a clinical hospital, patients’ anxiety and depression decreased, the experience of pain decreased, and there were positive changes in the perception of the quality of life.

Conclusions

A multidisciplinary approach is recommended in treating patients with rheumatoid arthritis and psychotherapy progam can be used as an additonal way of treatment.

Disclosure of Interest

None Declared

Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 66 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 31st European Congress of Psychiatry , March 2023 , pp. S1024
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
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