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The following is a summary of “Group dynamics and therapy outcome of multimodal pain therapies: A prospective observational trial,” published in the September 2024 issue of Pain by Mihatsch et al.
Interdisciplinary treatment programs are recommended for chronic pain, but they are not successful in all patients despite continuous adaptation and optimization.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study to determine the impact of patients with personality disorders on group dynamics and to analyze the influence of group dynamics on individual therapy outcomes.
They examined 104 patients with chronic pain who participated in a 5-week interdisciplinary treatment program. The primary outcome parameters were psychological state and pain intensity before and after the program.
The results showed that contrary to clinical assumptions, neither the type nor the number of individuals with personality accentuation or personality disorders significantly impacted group dynamics. Furthermore, a hostile group dynamic did not adversely affect individual therapy outcomes.
They concluded that the data demonstrated that neither the type nor the number of patients with personality disorders had a clinically relevant influence on group dynamics and that even a negative group dynamic did not negatively influence the individual therapy outcome, suggesting that clinicians should not be afraid to include patients with personality disorders in their treatment programs.
Source: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ejp.4731#accessDenialLayout
