Neurol. praxi 2016; 17(Suppl.4): 74-80

Signifi cance of psychotherapy in treating multiple sclerosis

Renata Malinová

Centrum pro demyelinizační onemocnění, Neurologická klinika 1. lékařská fakulta Univerzita Karlova a Všeobecná fakultní nemocnice v Praze

Generally, psychotherapy is defi ned as therapy using psychological means (e.g. interview, learning,suggestion, establishing a psychotherapeutic relationship) wherein the goal of treatment is to relievethe patient from complaints. (Kratochvíl, 2012) Psychotherapy is not meant to solve a problem for thepatient or give them life advice. Rather, it is supposed to help a person realize the context of theircomplaints and learn to use their own potential more eff ectively. In the stricter sense, it is a question ofchange of attitudes, self-awareness, and developing an active approach to treatment as well as creatinga new, healthier lifestyle with respect to the disease and self. In the mid-last century, research began todirect its eff orts towards fi nding so-called eff ective factors in psychotherapy in order to evidence itseff ect. Nowadays it is clear that any psychotherapy is convincingly more eff ective than no therapy at all.

Keywords: psychotherapy, multiple sclerosis

Received: July 11, 2017; Accepted: July 18, 2017; Published: November 1, 2018  Show citation