Effects of Psychoactive Massage in Outpatients with Depressive Disorders: A Randomized Controlled Mixed-Methods Study
Please always quote using this URN: urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-213385
- The clinical picture of depressive disorders is characterized by a plethora of somatic symptoms, psychomotor retardation, and, particularly, anhedonia. The number of patients with residual symptoms or treatment resistance is high. Touch is the basic communication among humans and animals. Its application professionally in the form of, e.g., psychoactive massage therapy, has been shown in the past to reduce the somatic and mental symptoms of depression and anxiety. Here, we investigated the effects of a specially developed affect-regulatingThe clinical picture of depressive disorders is characterized by a plethora of somatic symptoms, psychomotor retardation, and, particularly, anhedonia. The number of patients with residual symptoms or treatment resistance is high. Touch is the basic communication among humans and animals. Its application professionally in the form of, e.g., psychoactive massage therapy, has been shown in the past to reduce the somatic and mental symptoms of depression and anxiety. Here, we investigated the effects of a specially developed affect-regulating massage therapy (ARMT) vs. individual treatment with a standardized relaxation procedure, progressive muscle relaxation (PMR), in 57 outpatients with depression. Patients were given one ARMT or PMR session weekly over 4 weeks. Changes in somatic and cognitive symptoms were assessed by standard psychiatric instruments (Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) and the Bech–Rafaelsen–Melancholia–Scale (BRMS)) as well as a visual analogue scale. Furthermore, oral statements from all participants were obtained in semi-structured interviews. The findings show clear and statistically significant superiority of ARMT over PMR. The results might be interpreted within various models. The concept of interoception, as well as the principles of body psychotherapy and phenomenological aspects, offers cues for understanding the mechanisms involved. Within a neurobiological context, the significance of C-tactile afferents activated by special touch techniques and humoral changes such as increased oxytocin levels open additional ways of interpreting our findings.…
Author: | Michaela Maria Arnold, Bruno Müller-Oerlinghausen, Norbert Hemrich, Dominikus Bönsch |
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URN: | urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-213385 |
Document Type: | Journal article |
Faculties: | Medizinische Fakultät |
Language: | English |
Parent Title (English): | Brain Sciences |
ISSN: | 2076-3425 |
Year of Completion: | 2020 |
Volume: | 10 |
Issue: | 10 |
Article Number: | 676 |
Source: | Brain Sciences 2020, 10(10), 676; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci10100676 |
DOI: | https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci10100676 |
Dewey Decimal Classification: | 6 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften / 61 Medizin und Gesundheit / 610 Medizin und Gesundheit |
Tag: | C-tactile fibers; affect-regulating massage therapy; affective touch; body psychotherapy; depression; interoception; massage therapy; pain; psychoactive massage |
Release Date: | 2021/03/10 |
Date of first Publication: | 2020/09/26 |
Open-Access-Publikationsfonds / Förderzeitraum 2020 | |
Licence (German): | CC BY: Creative-Commons-Lizenz: Namensnennung 4.0 International |