title: Psychodynamic focal group treatment for psychosomatic inpatients--with an emphasis on work-related conflicts.
abstract: Conflicts arising from the work setting have remained a neglected issue in psychotherapy. To address this, the present study investigated the effectiveness of a manualized focal group treatment for psychotherapeutic inpatients suffering from vocational strains and conflicts and identified predictors of outcome. Cohorts of patients were assigned either to a treatment (N=144) or control condition (N=135). The group therapy intervention was found to be highly accepted by participants who were also more optimistic about returning to work and more favorable in their evaluations of treatment than patients in the treatment-as-usual condition. Group climate was found to be a predictor of favorable outcome. The findings suggest that a group therapy intervention with a strong emphasis on motivations and attitudes about work may be particularly suitable to deal with vocational conflicts and strains.
authors.affiliation: Clinic for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University of Mainz, and Psychosomatic Hospital, Bad Neustadt/Saale, Germany. beutel@psychosomatik.klinik.uni-mainz.de
authors.forename: Manfred E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Beutel
authors.forename: Rudolf J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Knickenberg
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Krug
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mund
authors.forename: Lothar
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Schattenburg
authors.forename: Rüdiger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zwerenz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002055:Burnout, Professional; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011602:Psychophysiologic Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D011615:Psychotherapy, Group / Q000379:methods*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology; D017132:Workplace / Q000523:psychology*