[Evaluation of the effectiveness of body-psychotherapy in out-patient settings (EEBP)]

Abstract

Results from a multi-center evaluation study of body-psychotherapies are reported. The design is naturalistic and evaluates the effectiveness of routine applications of body-psychotherapy in outpatient settings. 3 German and 5 Swiss member institutes of the European Association for Body Psychotherapy (EABP: 38 members) participated, the Swiss institutes also being members of the Schweizer Charta für Psychotherapie. At three points of measurement (at intake, after 6 months and at the end of therapy [after two years at maximum]) well established questionnaires (e. g. BAI, BDI, SCL-90-R, IIP-D) were administered. Meanwhile we also have catamnestic data at 1 year after termination of therapy (n = 42). Patients who seek body-psychotherapeutic treatment (n = 342 participated in the study) compare to other outpatient psychotherapeutic patients concerning sociodemographic data, level of impairment and psychopathology. After six months of therapy (n = 253) these patients have significantly improved with small to moderate intraclass effect sizes. At the end of therapy or after two years of treatment at maximum (n = 160) large effect sizes are attained in all scales. These are lasting results according to catamnestic data (n = 42). This naturalistic prospective field study claims to supply evidence for the effectiveness of the evaluated body-psychotherapeutic methods and to classify as phase IV- ("routine application") and level I-evidence.