Treatment for hypochondriacs effective but some hate the truth

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 24 Mar 2004 - 0:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   view / write opinions   rate article

If you are a hypochondriac you might find six sessions of cognitive behavioural therapy will help you. On the other hand, there is a 25% chance you will drop out of the treatment when you find out the problem is in your head.

This study was carried out by Arthur Barsky and his team, Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston. Barsky said "Most hypochondriac people never will go to a psychiatrist. They'll say, 'I don't need to talk about this, I need somebody to stick a biopsy needle in my liver, I need that CAT scan repeated.' "

They studied 187 people. 102 people received psychotherapy while 85 received normal medical care. Those who had six sessions of psychotherapy showed significant improvements - 57% got much better from their hypochondria. Of the ones who received normal medical care only 34% improved.

About 5% of patients who see their primary-care doctors are hypochondriacs. The patient thinks he or she is ill and worries about it a lot - however, there is no physical illness there.

You can read about the study in JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association).

It is difficult to track down and identify hypochondriacs because they are often switching doctors. They switch doctors a lot because they are looking for that positive diagnosis.