[Effect of group psychotherapy on changes in symptoms and personality traits in patients with anxiety syndromes].

Psychotherapy remains the most efficient form of treatment in neurotic and personality disorders. It is a process whereby the therapist can influence and change the patient's personality. As a result, patients are able to better understand their experiences and behavior and are given a chance to be freed from symptoms. The goal of the present study was to establish the relationship between group psychotherapy and specific symptom clusters, and to follow changes in the personality structure of patients of both genders diagnosed according to ICD-10 classification. The Symptoms Questionnaire and the Personality Factor test were used to determine the severity of symptoms and study personality traits. The study group consisted of 115 patients (76 women and 39 men) with neurotic or personality disorders, participating in group therapy at the Day Care Unit of the Department of Psychiatry, Pomeranian Academy of Medicine in Szczecin between 1992 and 1998. Four groups were formed depending on the diagnosis according to ICD-10 classification: anxiety disorders--F41; somatic disorders--F45; neurotic disorders--F48; and personality disorders--F60 (Table 1). Treatment started and ended with a CV Questionnaire, Symptoms Questionnaire and Personality Factor test. Group psychotherapy was in the open form and the duration of treatment was 12 weeks with 2 sessions per day. In order to detect any improvement in mental health and symptoms, patients were given the Symptoms Questionnaire on a weekly basis. Statistics were done with the SPSS software package. It was found that the global intensity of symptoms before treatment was highest in patients with somatic form of the disorder. In this group after therapy, the intensity of symptoms was lowest, probably because of conversion of primary to secondary anxiety. A considerable decrease in the intensity of symptoms may also be explained by stronger motivation of these patients to benefit from therapy because of their severe symptoms. A link between the clinical diagnosis according to ICD-10 and some symptoms reported by the patients was noted. Thus, the Symptoms Questionnaire could be a useful tool precisely revealing specific symptoms in some disorders. No statistically significant differences on the Symptoms Questionnaire scale based on ICD-10, nor any differences in personality traits were found. The personality traits were different for men and women before and after therapy. As for hysterical symptoms, improvement was greater in women. After psychotherapy, the structure of personality traits improved in both sexes (Fig. 1). An essential alleviation of symptoms was found at the beginning and at the end of treatment (Table 2). The main conclusions are: 1. Group psychotherapy is an efficient method of treatment for patients who suffer from anxiety-related disorders. 2. The Symptoms Questionnaire and Personality Factor test were very useful for assessing the results of psychotherapy. 3. Alleviation of symptoms during treatment differed between men and women in 3 out of 13 symptom clusters and no significant differences between disorders according to ICD-10 were found. Consequently, these criteria are of little value for preliminary evaluation of therapeutic success. 4. Alleviation of symptoms was observed at the beginning and end of treatment. Symptom severity remained constant in the middle part of treatment.