Long-term follow-up of a multimodal day clinic, group-based treatment program for patients with very high risk for complex posttraumatic stress disorder, and for patients with non-complex trauma-related disorders.

Objective: The present study examined the follow-up of a multimodal day clinic group-based therapy program for patients with trauma-related disorders and investigated potential differences for patients with classic PTSD versus cPTSD.

Method: Sixty-six patients were contacted 6 and 12 months after discharge of our 8-week program and completed various questionnaires (Essen Trauma Inventory (ETI), Beck Depression Inventory-Revised (BDI-II), Screening scale of complex PTSD (SkPTBS), Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-Somatization, as well as single items to therapy utilization and life events in the interim period). Due to organizational reasons a control group could not be included.

Women-only versus mixed-gender groups in multimodal, day clinic treatment of trauma-related disorders.

In the German healthcare system benefits include inpatient and day clinic psychotherapy of trauma-related disorders, which are often provided in gender specific groups. Despite this widespread practice, the actual impact and potential outcome have been studied relatively scarcely and are still open to debate. The present study therefore examines whether the therapeutic relationships in the group vary depending on the group composition and whether this has an effect on therapy outcome.

Effectiveness of a Multimodal, Day Clinic Group-Based Treatment Program for Trauma-Related Disorders: Differential Therapy Outcome for Complex PTSD vs. Non-Complex Trauma-Related Disorders.

The effectiveness of the psychotherapeutic treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder is evidence-based and generally considered proven. However, the effectiveness of multimodal, group-based day clinic treatment programs has rarely been investigated. Moreover, there is no consensus in the literature concerning the question whether psychotherapeutic approaches for trauma-related disorders are also applicable for patients with complex PTSD (cPTSD).

Professional and Volunteer Refugee Aid Workers-Depressive Symptoms and Their Predictors, Experienced Traumatic Events, PTSD, Burdens, Engagement Motivators and Support Needs.

In 2016, the Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy of the University Hospital of Erlangen started conducting training for professional and voluntary aid workers. In total, 149 aid workers took part in the training courses, of which 135 completed the corresponding questionnaires. Engagement motivators, perceived distress in refugee work and training needs were examined.

[Distress, Main Burdens, Engagement Motivators and Needs of Fulltime and Volunteer Refugee Aid Workers].

In the psychosomatic department of the University Hospital of Erlangen trainings were conducted for active refugee aid workers with start in January, 2016. Meanwhile 49 helpers participated in the training and 45 of them filled out a survey questionnaire. Perceived distress when providing care for refugees, as well as engagement motivation and further training needs were explored.

The differential diagnosis of food intolerance.

Introduction: More than 20% of the population in industrialized countries suffer from food intolerance or food allergy.

Methods: Selective literature search for relevant publications in PubMed and the Cochrane Library combined with further data from the interdisciplinary database on chronic inflammatory and allergic diseases of the Erlangen University Hospital.

Results: The majority of cases of food intolerance (15% to 20%) are due to non-immunological causes.

[Compulsive buying and psychiatric comorbidity].

Compulsive buying is an excessive behavior that has begun to receive attention from researchers in recent years. The current study provides an overview of research on compulsive buying and examines the psychiatric co-morbidity in a German female treatment seeking compulsive buying sample in comparison with age and gender-matched normal buying control groups. Thirty women suffering from compulsive buying disorder, 30 community controls, and 30 bariatric surgery candidates were assessed with the German versions of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV diagnoses (SCID).

A randomized, controlled trial of group cognitive-behavioral therapy for compulsive buying disorder: posttreatment and 6-month follow-up results.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to conduct a randomized trial comparing the efficacy of a group cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) intervention designed for the treatment of compulsive buying disorder to a waiting list control (WLC) group.

Method: Thirty-one patients with compulsive buying problems according to the criteria developed by McElroy et al. were assigned to receive active treatment (12 weekly sessions and 6-month follow-up) and 29 to the WLC group.

[The application of ecological momentary assessment to the study of compulsive buying].

Although compulsive buying is a disorder that has begun to receive attention from researchers in recent years, relatively little is known about the relationship between compulsive buying, mood, and daily stressful events. In our pilot study ecological momentary assessment (EMA) was used to examine the described relationships for the first time. 26 patients, who met criteria for compulsive buying, self-monitored their pathological behaviour, their momentary mood and the occurrence of stressful events four times a day on a handheld computer for a period of two weeks.

Hoarding in a compulsive buying sample.

Previous research has indicated that many compulsive buyers also suffer from compulsive hoarding. The present work specifically examined hoarding in a compulsive buying sample. Sixty-six treatment-seeking compulsive buyers were assessed prior to entering a group therapy for compulsive buying using the Compulsive Buying Scale (CBS), the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS)-Shopping Version, the Compulsive Acquisition Scale (CAS), the German-CBS, the Saving Inventory-Revised (SI-R), the Maudsley Obsessive Compulsive Inventory (MOCI), the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11), and the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I (SCID).

Comparison of treatment seeking compulsive buyers in Germany and the United States.

Objective: The aim of this pilot study was to compare a German (Bavaria) and an American (North Dakota) sample of women suffering from compulsive buying.

Method: Thirty-eight German and 39 American female compulsive buyers were screened with the Compulsive Buying Scale (CBS), and the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale-Shopping Version (Y-BOCS-SV) prior to entering a group treatment study. Psychiatric co-morbidity was assessed with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I disorders (SCID).