[An adolescent patient with functional cardiovascular syndrome--treatment with short-term psychotherapy]

This paper presents a case of 14 year old boy with psychogenic heart complaints after the divorce of his parents. Additionally we diagnosed a depressive and dependent personality and neurotic defence mechanisms presenting as somatisation. Psychotherapy was suggestive and supportive and involved imaginative and creative elements as utilized in day dream techniques. This proved to be a sufficient short time therapy and resulted in rapid improvement of the distressing heart pain. The boy was helped to reorganize his life and enabled to adapt sufficiently. This case shows a positive outcome of a multimodal, symptom focused, short time psychotherapy as being sufficient in the treatment of a child with somatisation disorder, due to the high flexibility of the developing personality.