Two psychological treatments for hypochondriasis. A randomised controlled trial

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Clinical Psychology

Background:

• Hypochondriasis presents significant management challenges.
• Identifying effective therapeutic interventions is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy of cognitive therapy for hypochondriasis.
• To compare cognitive therapy with an alternative credible treatment, behavioral stress management.

Main Methods:

• Randomized controlled trial with 48 hypochondriasis patients.
• Groups included cognitive therapy, behavioral stress management, and a waitlist control.
• Assessments conducted at multiple time points up to 12-month follow-up.

Main Results:

• Both cognitive therapy and behavioral stress management were superior to the waitlist control.
• Cognitive therapy demonstrated greater efficacy in reducing hypochondriasis symptoms compared to behavioral stress management at mid- and post-treatment.
• Long-term follow-up (12 months) showed sustained improvement for both therapies, with no significant differences between them on most measures.

Conclusions:

• Cognitive therapy is a specific and effective treatment for hypochondriasis.
• Behavioral stress management is also effective, though its specificity for hypochondriasis requires further investigation.