title: The effect of psychotherapy in improving physical and psychiatric symptoms in patients with functional dyspepsia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Functional Dyspepsia (FD) is a common symptom of upper gastrointestinal discomfort. Few data are available on the role of psychotherapy in the treatment of dyspeptic syndromes. This study assesses whether brief core conflictual relationship theme (CCRT) psychoanalytic psychotherapy improves gastrointestinal and psychiatric symptoms in patients with functional dyspepsia.
  
  
  METHODS
  A randomized, controlled trial was planned in two educational hospitals in city of Babol. Forty-nine patients with FD were randomly assigned to receive standard medication treatment with CCRT psychotherapy (24 participants) or standard medication treatment alone (25 participants). The participants completed the Patient Assessment of Upper Gastrointestinal Symptom Severity Index (PAGI-SYM) and Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R) questionnaires before the trial, after the treatment and at 1 and 12-month follow-ups. The mixed-effects (regression) model was used to analyze the data.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results showed that CCRT psychotherapy improved all of the FD symptoms (heartburn/regurgitation, nausea/vomiting, fullness, bloating, upper abdominal pain, and lower abdominal pain) and many of the psychiatric symptoms (depression, anxiety, somatization, interpersonal sensitivity and paranoid ideation) after the treatment and at 1-month and 12-month follow-ups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Brief CCRT psychoanalytic psychotherapy can serve as an effective intervention for promoting gastrointestinal and psychiatric symptoms in patients with functional dyspepsia.
authors.affiliation: Social determinants of Health Research Center, Assistant Professor, Babol university of medical Sciences, Babol, Iran.
authors.forename: Mahbobeh
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Faramarzi
authors.affiliation: Department of psychology, Faculty of Humanities, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Parviz
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Azadfallah
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Howard E
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Book
authors.affiliation: Associate professor, Department of psychology, Faculty of Humanities, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Kazem
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rasolzadeh Tabatabai
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Rohani hospital, Babol, Iran.
authors.forename: Hassan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Taherim
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Rohani hospital, Babol, Iran.
authors.forename: Mehrdad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kashifard
keywords: Core Conflictual Relationship Theme; Functional dyspepsia; Psychiatric Symptoms