Somatization and symptom reduction through a behavioral medicine intervention in a mind/body medicine clinic

The authors assessed data from 1,148 outpatients in a 10-week medical sympt om reduction program to determine the effectiveness of a behavioral medicin e intervention among somatizing patients. The program included instruction in the relaxation response, cognitive restructuring, nutrition, and exercis e. Before and after the intervention, the patients were evaluated on the Sy mptom Checklist-90 Revised (SCL-90R), the Medical Symptom Checklist, and th e Stress perception Scale. They were divided into high- and low-somatizing groups on the basis of the pretreatment SCL-90R somatization scale. At the end of the program, physical and psychological symptoms on the Medical Symp tom Checklist and the SCL-90R were significantly reduced in both groups, wi th the reductions greater in the high-somatizing group. Improvements in str ess perception were about the same in both groups, bur the absence of an un treated control group precluded estimates of how much the improvements resu lted from the behavioral medicine intervention and how much from natural he aling over time.