Abstract
This study presents a brief treatment report of a 22-year-old-female, with a diagnosis of somatic symptom disorder and exacerbated by schizoid-avoidant personality features. Both conditions induced anxiety and many other difficulties in her functioning. Her negative self-views were the main issues that led to excessive negative emotionality, both internally (somatization) and externally (interpersonal relationship difficulties). The purpose of this case report is to illustrate an integrated treatment process consisting of cognitive-behavioral therapy and gratitude therapy. Gratitude therapy helps to alter the preoccupation of negative perspectives. Conclusions on the effectiveness of treatment were interpreted with an eye on the study’s methodological limitations.
Highlights
Somatic Symptom Disorder (SSD) in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) V (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013) is a condition of marked distress caused by persistent beliefs that one is suffering from serious medical conditions
This report provides a preliminary insight that Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) integrated with gratitude therapy could be effective in reducing somatic symptoms and accompanying psychological distress
If CBT was administered alone to address the somatic symptoms disorder, it would have been more difficult for her because she was preoccupied with negative thoughts
Summary
Somatic symptom disorder (SSD) is a condition characterized by distress due to persistent beliefs that one is suffering a serious medical condition. In the Indonesian culture, expressing discomfort in somatization is more socially acceptable than describing psychological distress. Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) has vast empirical evidence in the Western practice for treating SSD. There is still a lack of Indonesian literature regarding the effectiveness of CBT for treating SSD. This study serves to provide an initial evidence on the topic from Indonesia perspective.
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