GROUP COGNITIVE AND BEHAVIORAL TREATMENT FOR HYPOCHONDRIASIS

Objective - To assess the feasibility of carrying out group cognitive and behavioural treatment for hypochondriasis in a general hospital setting. Design - Assessment of patients referred for therapy. Setting - District general hospital. Patients - Six patients aged 35 to 55 (mean 43) years with a mean duration of symptoms of 12 years who fulfilled the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM III-R) criteria for hypochrondriasis. Main outcome measures - Number of visits to their doctors, time spent thinking about illness, and scores on the hospital anxiety and depression scales. Results - The mean number of visits to a doctor fell significantly after treatment (3 before treatment v 0.8 after treatment; p = 0.03) as did the time spent thinking about illness (57.3 v 40.6; p = 0.14). The depression and anxiety scores also fell, although the differences were not significant (depression: 9.5 before v 8.5 after; anxiety: 13 before v 12 after). Conclusion - It is feasible to carry out group cognitive and behavioural treatment in patients with hypochondriasis, and controlled studies are now indicated.