The efficacy of Brief Psychodynamic Psychotherapy for fibromyalgia: a pilot study

Background: Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic pain condition characterized by widespread pain, fatigue, sleep disorder and psychological distress. Although the efficacy of psychological interventions such as cognitive–behavioural therapy is well- known, there are few studies investigating the efficacy of Brief Psychodynamic Therapy (BPT) in FM. Therefore, we conducted a randomized controlled trial comparing an individual BPT, inspired on the Brief Dynamic Interpersonal Therapy model, versus an individual Cognitive Therapy (CT). Methods: Thirty female patients with FM were recruited in an Italian hospital setting and randomized to receive either BPT (16 sessions, 1 session/week) or CT (16 sessions, 1 session/week). Outcome measures, administered before (T0) and after the psychotherapy treatment (T1), included the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire-Revised (FIQ-R), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Metacognitive Functions Screening Scale (MFSS), Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), the Relationships Questionnaire (RQ) and the health-related quality of life (SF- 36). Results: Both treatments were equally effective in reducing the FIQ-R (p=0.018) and the HADS total score (p=.015) and in improving the health-related quality of life, both in the mental (p=.001) and physical (p=.004) component of the SF-36. No significant changes emerged, instead, in the MFSS, RQ and TAS-20 questionnaires after the treatments. Conclusions: The brief psychodynamic therapy showed to be equally effective as the individual cognitive therapy in lowering the psychological distress level, and in improving fibromyalgia-related symptoms and patients’ health-related quality of life.