Outpatient Morita Therapy and Anxiety Disorder with Somatic Symptoms in Western Population

Abstract

Psychosomatic Medicine (PM) is increasingly practiced in the field of psychiatry and psychotherapy. Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and pharmacological treatment are widely used and have clinically proven their efficacy in PM. In this proposal, the efficacy of outpatient Morita Therapy (MT) is compared with CBT and pharmacological protocols as treatments for anxiety-related psychosomatic symptoms. The design is a randomized clinical trial with three levels of treatment: CBT, outpatient MT, and CBT with pharmacological treatment. Dependent measures include scales for both manifest anxiety and psychosomatic symptoms. Eligibility for subjects is based on diagnosable anxiety disorder with psychosomatic symptoms. The discussion focuses on the need for a wider range and more in-depth brief treatments for anxiety-related psychosomatic disorders.