Search

Highlights • The role of an embodied therapeutic relationship and the therapist's felt sense is explored in the change process. • Regulating emotional responses to adversity through expressive and symbolic enactments were central in addressing the trauma. • The playfulness in BOPT enabled the patient to experience a tangible connection with his creativity and resilience. Abstract This case study describes an innovative experiential Body Oriented Psychological Therapy (BOPT) for a patient with mixed dissociative conversion disorder (ICD-10, F44.7) and co-morbid depression resulting in severe somatoform complaints and emotional distress. The therapy process is informed by the main theoretical hypotheses of BOPT and utilises non-verbal expressive behaviour, body awareness and movement interventions to facilitate a change process through linking the expression of a wider range of emotions to implicit memories on a somatic level. Hereby the patient is enabled to access and bring into consciousness determinants of psychological states including repressed anger and conflicting feelings and ideas. The playfulness in BOPT fosters creative capabilities and embodied symbolic enactments of responses to trauma help to explore alternative coping mechanisms. Over the course of fifty sessions of BOPT important positive changes in the patient's presentation were noted. By the end of therapy the patient was much more able to cope with his disability and he felt empowered to move forward in his life. The positive outcome suggests that this BOPT approach offers a useful alternative intervention when working with patients with conversion disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Persistent negative symptoms are an ongoing challenge in the treatment of chronic schizophrenia. Evidence from randomised controlled trials suggests that arts/non-verbal therapies may be effective in treating negative symptoms of schizophrenia. These treatments have not yet been evaluated in open clinical settings. The present uncontrolled clinical trial examines the therapeutic processes and clinical outcomes of group body psychotherapy (BPT) on marked negative symptoms in patients with chronic schizophrenia. Changes in symptom scores, subjective quality of life, social functioning and emotional processing between baseline and post-treatment were assessed. The ratings from clinical assessments of independent researchers were compared with the post-therapy summary assessment of the therapists. A total of 39 eligible patients were referred, out of which 18 patients agreed to participate and received BPT in addition to treatment as usual within three therapy groups run by different therapists. Patients had high symptom levels and low psychosocial functioning at baseline. Negative symptoms and general psychopathology significantly reduced during treatment. Positive symptoms and other outcomes did not change. Researcher ratings of psychopathology were in line with the assessment of clinical outcome by therapists and qualitative observations on changes in movement behaviour during therapy. The results of this study are consistent with findings from a RCT (), indicating that BPT is associated with reduced negative symptoms even when administered in routine clinical settings. Therapists’ qualitative judgements may be considered as a valid source for assessing treatment outcomes. Future studies should explore effects of longer term treatments on other outcomes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]