Increasing Resilience in Somatic Symptom Disorder with ReAttach: A Single Case Study in Occupational Therapy

Abstract

In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), Somatic Symptom Disorder (SSD) is a presentation of physical symptoms that accompany excessive thoughts, emotions, or symptom-related behavior, causing significant dysfunction or distress (1, 2). A medical condition does not always explain the symptomatology. According to Kurlansik and Maffei (1), patients with Somatic Symptom Disorder first experience a heightened awareness of bodily sensations. Furthermore, these patients tend to interpret these bodily sensations as indicating that they must have a medical illness (2). Besides the fact that this causes much concern for patients, research shows that there is comorbidity with personality problems. Based on scientific research, the prognosis for patients with these complex complaints is unfavorable. According to Rief and Rojas (3), up to 90% of SSD patients have a disease course that lasts longer than 5 years. Previous studies only yielded small to moderate effect sizes in treatment outcomes for this patient group (4). The current study focused on a 28-year-old young woman as a case with an unspecified SSD and cluster C personality traits.
In general, the authors of this study hope to shed a different light on SSD and the use of ReAttach to improve the resilience and self-reliance of this patient group. Authors also argue that the ReAttach intervention should be applied within Occupational Therapy (OT) as a supportive tool. Most importantly, they want to share the story of a young patient whose quality of life  improved dramatically after ReAttach while on the waiting list for outpatient SSD treatment.