{"title":"[Historical review: \"Socialist help line\": The telephone of trust].","authors":"Inge Frohburg","doi":"10.1055/a-2732-9961","DOIUrl":"10.1055/a-2732-9961","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In the final years of its existence, the GDR had a \"telephone of trust\" service in various cities. It was intended to assist people in psychosocial problems and crisis situations, to support them and help them cope with or overcome their difficulties. On the one hand, as the available statistics show, the service was used to a considerable extent. On the other hand, it was hardly known among the general population. It is striking that there are several misrepresentations in which, for example, the \"trust phone\" is equated or confused with the church-organized telephone counseling service. In retrospect, negative and defamatory connotations are also repeatedly noticeable: \"The Stasi was always listening,\" \"SED-contaminated,\" or \"It wasn't wise to place too much trust in it.\" This article describes how the \"trust phone (Telefon des Vertrauens)\" was founded in the GDR, the principles and conditions under which its employees worked - also in comparison to the telephone counseling service - and what is known about the callers. Reference is made to the \"Telefon des Vertrauens\" founded in Leipzig in 1983, the one that has existed in Berlin since the end of 1987 (with which personal experience of the author exist), and the one that existed in Dresden since the spring of 1989.</p>","PeriodicalId":47315,"journal":{"name":"Psychotherapie Psychosomatik Medizinische Psychologie","volume":" ","pages":"167-175"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145764170","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"[Patients with Psychotherapy Experience in the GDR - Findings of an Interview Study on the Pre-Therapeutic Phase].","authors":"Kristina Noeh, Bernhard Strauß","doi":"10.1055/a-2801-3598","DOIUrl":"10.1055/a-2801-3598","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study captures and contextualizes experiences of former patients treated in GDR psychotherapy, focusing on the pre-therapeutic phase, triggers, access, expectations, and political attitudes. It addresses a research gap on the patient perspective.Semi-structured interviews with 15 individuals treated between 1974-1989 were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Categories included triggers, access pathways, expectations, political attitudes, motivations for change, and gender differences.The most frequently reported reason for seeking psychotherapy was current distress, partly in combination with childhood experiences. Only a small number of participants explicitly linked their initiation of psychotherapy to the political system of the GDR. Access to psychotherapy was predominantly self-initiated, often facilitated by personal networks or medical referrals; system-critical networks played a particularly important role for individuals who expressed political distance from the regime. Expectations ranged from symptom reduction to the desire for self-reflection, as well as the absence of specific expectations. Political attitudes and motivations for change varied, with both active loyalty and conscious distancing more frequently associated with high reform-oriented motivations among the interviewees. Gender-specific differences were observed particularly in access pathways, with men more often reporting a self-initiated route into psychotherapy.Findings suggest the pre-therapeutic phase was only partly shaped by GDR sociopolitics. Self-initiated access and informal networks indicate partial decoupling from the state system. Patients seeking psychotherapy often showed readiness for responsibility and personal change, reflected in expectations and political motivations. The study highlights the value of the patient perspective for understanding psychotherapy in its historical context.</p>","PeriodicalId":47315,"journal":{"name":"Psychotherapie Psychosomatik Medizinische Psychologie","volume":"76 3-04","pages":"155-166"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147595606","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"[GDR-injustice and its consequences?]","authors":"Bernhard Strauß, Elmar Brähler","doi":"10.1055/a-2764-8573","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1055/a-2764-8573","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47315,"journal":{"name":"Psychotherapie Psychosomatik Medizinische Psychologie","volume":"76 3-04","pages":"103-105"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147595540","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"[Twice disadvantaged? - Structural stigmatisation of those affected by SED injustice in health care].","authors":"Anne Weiß, Georg Schomerus","doi":"10.1055/a-2708-9647","DOIUrl":"10.1055/a-2708-9647","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Many of those who were politically persecuted in the GDR still suffer from the health, economic and psychosocial consequences to this day. Little research has been carried out into the after-effects of the state's deliberate stigmatization, through which people were assigned negative stereotypes, socially excluded and politically delegitimized. It can be assumed that structural stigmatization processes in particular continue to exist in institutional practices after the system change. Discrimination and different treatment of those affected can have far-reaching consequences, particularly in healthcare. In addition to a theoretical introduction to stigma research, the question of the extent to which those affected are still exposed to structural disadvantages in the healthcare system, what hurdles they experience and how they perceive them will be explored.As part of the qualitative study, 20 guided interviews with a high narrative component were conducted, transcribed in terms of content and semantics and then analysed using MAXQDA software and grounded theory methodology.The results make it clear that those affected by GDR injustice anticipate or experience structural stigmatization in the context of healthcare. In addition to the perception of general care problems, specific hurdles and requirements resulting from the experience of injustice in the GDR were described. In particular, competence barriers are mentioned in contact with professionals. Individual consequences for those affected can be seen on a psychological, emotional and behavioral level.The results make it clear that the health burdens experienced by those affected cannot be attributed solely to the injustice experienced in the GDR, but can also be exacerbated by the structural stigmatisation processes currently experienced in healthcare. Limitations and practical implications are discussed.There is an urgent need to sensitize professionals to these connections, also with regard to intersectional attributions of characteristics.</p>","PeriodicalId":47315,"journal":{"name":"Psychotherapie Psychosomatik Medizinische Psychologie","volume":" ","pages":"132-140"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145507911","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"[German Congress for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy 2026].","authors":"Karl-Jürgen Bär, Kerstin Weidner","doi":"10.1055/a-2750-3216","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1055/a-2750-3216","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47315,"journal":{"name":"Psychotherapie Psychosomatik Medizinische Psychologie","volume":"76 2","pages":"55-56"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146221587","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Moritz Metelmann, Svenja Heyne, Mareike Peuker, Joseph Claßen, Anja Mehnert-Theuerkauf, Peter Esser
{"title":"[Experiences with the Application of Short-Term Psychotherapy in Patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: What Can We Learn from It?]","authors":"Moritz Metelmann, Svenja Heyne, Mareike Peuker, Joseph Claßen, Anja Mehnert-Theuerkauf, Peter Esser","doi":"10.1055/a-2711-2085","DOIUrl":"10.1055/a-2711-2085","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is associated with elevated distress, but evidence on psychosocial interventions is limited. We tested the feasibility of a psychotherapy for palliative cancer patients in ALS patients.We applied CALM (Managing Cancer and Living Meaningfully), an effective psychodynamic short-term therapy for advanced cancer patients, within a pre-post study among patients with ALS. We provided patient flow and formal treatment information. Based on the treatment protocols, the therapist reflected on the applicability of the treatment structure, specifics in the psychosocial work with ALS patients and suggestions for treatment modification.Among 15 eligible patients, five participated. Three patients completed the treatment, two patients provided complete study data. The trial was prematurely stopped due to issues in feasibility. Six (22%) sessions were conducted via telephone, 10 (37%) were attended by family caregivers. The structure showed limited applicability largely because fear-laden topics including suffering and death were extensively avoided. Compared to palliative cancer patients, ALS patients fluctuated more strongly in their psychological and physical symptom burden and were more strongly distressed by disease-related practical issues. Recommendations included a multi-professional team, booster sessions and a direct support for caregivers.A psychotherapy effective for cancer patients showed features that limit its applicability among ALS patients. Some of these limitations are treatment-inherent and thus hard to adapt. Rather than modifying the program, we suggest to develop a specific supportive psychotherapeutic intervention within a participatory approach.</p>","PeriodicalId":47315,"journal":{"name":"Psychotherapie Psychosomatik Medizinische Psychologie","volume":" ","pages":"86-94"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145507817","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"[Adoptees searching for information: Experiences with individual file research in the context of forced adoptions in the German Democratic Republic].","authors":"Emelie Compera, Doreen Hoffmann, Heide Glaesmer","doi":"10.1055/a-2589-1923","DOIUrl":"10.1055/a-2589-1923","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Contemporary witnesses who assume that they were affected by forced adoptions in the GDR as children often report difficulties in researching personal files. Their experiences and the resulting consequences will be examined.26 narrative interviews were conducted with contemporary witnesses about their experiences with the process of researching and accessing files and analysed using qualitative content analysis.The multi-stage and often complicated process of researching files is characterized by personal, bureaucratic and structural factors that can both facilitate and hinder the process. The research process can lead to personal clarification but can also raise further questions and contradictions and thus trigger feelings of relief as well as anger, sadness and the experience of injusticeDifficulties in the research process can lead to stress and continued experiences of injustice, which can be topics in psychotherapy and psychosocial counselling.Assistance in the research process and sensitization of practitioners can support those affected in the search for and classification of information found.</p>","PeriodicalId":47315,"journal":{"name":"Psychotherapie Psychosomatik Medizinische Psychologie","volume":"76 2","pages":"67-75"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146221618","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Uwe Wutzler, Pauline Endler, Ulrike Brith, Jessica Heine, Daniel Rezmer, Vera Seebeck, Anette Tögel, Anita Wilda-Kiesel, Thomas Villmann
{"title":"[Development of a questionnaire to assess the effective factors of communicative movement therapy: IP-Kom62 and IP-Kom22].","authors":"Uwe Wutzler, Pauline Endler, Ulrike Brith, Jessica Heine, Daniel Rezmer, Vera Seebeck, Anette Tögel, Anita Wilda-Kiesel, Thomas Villmann","doi":"10.1055/a-2682-2236","DOIUrl":"10.1055/a-2682-2236","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The study aimed to develop a questionnaire that captures the key effectiveness factors of the Communicative Movement Therapy (KomBT) method.A group of experts developed five content-related scales in an explorative and deductive manner to map specific factors of the method's effectiveness. The Inventory for Process Assessment of Treatment with Communicative Movement Therapy (IP-Kom) contains 62 items and was completed by 211 patients after a KomBT therapy session. The data was analyzed using cluster and factor analysis to check the assignment of the items to the scales. In addition, an artificial neural network was used to validate the predictive power of the item statistics for the subjective benefit of the therapy.The cluster analysis confirmed a 5-factor solution, and the subsequent factor analysis confirmed the five factors of the questionnaire: positive body experience, cohesion, inhibition, positive development and emotionality, and positive experience of closeness. The reliability of the individual factors was between α=0,73 and α=0,93, which indicates a high level of internal consistency. Factor analysis was used to reduce the number of items from 62 to 22 (IP-Com22) and to clarify the content of the statements in the scales. Whether the KomBT procedure is experienced as helpful could not be attributed to one factor alone. The assessment only correlated with the sum of all factors surveyed in the IP-Kom22.The IP-Kom22 is an economical questionnaire for the assessment of group and body psychotherapeutic factors that can be used both in routine clinical practice and in further scientific studies.</p>","PeriodicalId":47315,"journal":{"name":"Psychotherapie Psychosomatik Medizinische Psychologie","volume":" ","pages":"76-85"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145303980","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Johannes Maximilian Seiderer, Lea-Elena Braunschneider, Stefan Werner Schneider, Bernd Löwe, Sebastian Kohlmann
{"title":"[Early detection of psychological comorbidity in inpatient dermatological care - A qualitative study on the evaluation of patients' perspectives].","authors":"Johannes Maximilian Seiderer, Lea-Elena Braunschneider, Stefan Werner Schneider, Bernd Löwe, Sebastian Kohlmann","doi":"10.1055/a-2715-8262","DOIUrl":"10.1055/a-2715-8262","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The aim of this qualitative study is to investigate the views of hospitalized dermatology patients on a psychosomatic early detection measure.This qualitative study comprises a nurse-led psychosomatic screening followed by consultation on dermatology wards at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany. For an initial screening, the Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4) was used by nurses during patient admission. All patients were interviewed once during their inpatient stay and once at least four weeks after discharge. The interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis.Nine patients (M=50.1 years; 4 women, 5 men; 18-84 years) who were positively screened for depressive symptoms or anxiety using the Patient Health Questionnaire-4 as part of a psychosomatic screening process were recruited for the study. Qualitative analysis identified seven themes, including appreciation of holistic care, stigma, barriers to psychological treatment and the structure of the screening process. In general, all patients appreciated the additional psychosomatic care, but also pointed out some barriers, such as long waiting times for therapy and stigmatization of psychosomatic illnesses.The qualitative results underline the positive attitude of dermatologically treated inpatients towards psychosomatic screening as an early detection measure in somatic care: On the one hand, the holistic care approach was welcomed, on the other hand, the combination of early detection measures and subsequent psychosomatic consultation was appreciated. Stigmatization of psychosomatic illness and systemic barriers were seen as challenges. Future studies should increase the sample size and extend the research question to other disciplines.</p>","PeriodicalId":47315,"journal":{"name":"Psychotherapie Psychosomatik Medizinische Psychologie","volume":" ","pages":"57-66"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145507840","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Naomi Johanna Seifert, Laura Lübke, Johannes Zimmermann, Christopher J Hopwood, Elmar Brähler, Matthias Volz, Cord Benecke, Carsten Spitzer
{"title":"[Can Emptiness be measured? The Psychometric Evaluation of the German Version of the Subjective Emptiness Scale].","authors":"Naomi Johanna Seifert, Laura Lübke, Johannes Zimmermann, Christopher J Hopwood, Elmar Brähler, Matthias Volz, Cord Benecke, Carsten Spitzer","doi":"10.1055/a-2703-2617","DOIUrl":"10.1055/a-2703-2617","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Subjective feelings of inner emptiness represent a transdiagnostic phenomenon that plays a major role in clinical practice, but has so far been insufficiently addressed by psychometrics. The recently developed Subjective Emptiness Scale (SES) is a user-friendly measure that fills this gap. In this study, the German version of the SES was psychometrically evaluated in a rather large general population sample.Respondents from a sample representative of the German general population (N=2508) completed the SES and other instruments to measure psychological distress. The eval-uation included a confirmatory factor analysis, calculation of test statistics (e. g., item-total correlations, internal consistency) and correlation analyses of the sum score with sociodemographic and clinical variables. In addition, age- and gender-specific norm values were determined in the form of T-values.The SES demonstrated a unidimensional factor structure with good model fit (CFI=0.999; TLI=0.998) and excellent internal consistency (McDonald's ω=0.92). Corrected item-total correlation was above 0.75 in all instances. Significant positive correlations of the sum score were found with depression and anxiety symptoms, providing evidence for criterion validity. Normative T-scores were established for age groups and gender; an SES value of 11 can be considered to be markedly increased (T<sub>70</sub>).The German version of the SES proves to be a reliable and potentially valid instrument for measuring subjective emptiness. For a further analysis of its clinical applicability and the definition of clinically relevant threshold values, studies in clinical samples are required.</p>","PeriodicalId":47315,"journal":{"name":"Psychotherapie Psychosomatik Medizinische Psychologie","volume":" ","pages":"43-48"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145303873","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}