Objectives: The Clinic for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy at the University Giessen, Germany, offers short-term (STT) and long-term inpatient therapy (LTT).
Methods: In a prospective, 3-year follow-up study, we examined therapeutic indication, short- and long-term results, outcome predictors, and the utilization of aftercare for both settings.
Results: STT patients were more frequently acutely ill, suffered from stronger symptomatic manifestations, and were more frequently employed. LTT patients had a greater rate of chronic psychosomatic disorders, personality disorders and somatic comorbidity. In both settings, distress strongly declined during inpatient therapy and remained stable for 3 years. Negative predictors of outcome were infantile object relation patterns and interpersonal problems. We found no differences between STT and LTT patients in terms of the utilization of aftercare.
Conclusion: Duration of psychosomatic inpatient treatment should be differentiated according to the chronicity and nature of the disorder.