Hypnotherapy for borderline psychic disorders in a multidisciplinary hospital

The increase in the number of patients with mental disorders in general hospitals with the shorter patient length of stay there requires diagnostic and therapeutic measures as soon as possible. Group hypnotic suggestive psychotherapy (HSPT) is an effective psychotherapeutic technique that is capable of covering a large number of patients in a short time. Objective: to evaluate the efficiency of short-term group HSPT in multidisciplinary hospital patients with borderline psychic disorders accompanying the underlying disease and to determine the impact of a single session of such therapy on the patients' condition. Patients and methods. A study group consisted of 78 patients who received HSPT; a control group included 37 patients who did not have such therapy. Treatment-induced changes in their mental state were evaluated using the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised questionnaire; the patients' current state was rated with the Mood and Feelings (health, activity, and mood) questionnaire, and the situational anxiety subtest of the integrative anxiety test (IAT-st). Results and discussion . The study group showed a more pronounced reduction in mental disorders, especially the symptoms of anxiety and depression, than that in the control group. A single HSPT session was shown to have a positive impact on the current state of patients, considerably improving their well-being and reducing the  manifestations of anxiety. Improving both the somatic and mental state of patients immediately before their discharge from a hospital seems to be an important therapeutic and social factor also for successful outpatient treatment. Conclusion . It is necessary to conduct a follow-up study to clarify how long the impact of short-term intervention using HSPT can persist. The latter can be effective in multidisciplinary hospital patients.