Elisabeth Maria Waller

• Dr. phil. Dipl.-Psych.
• Research Associate at University of Freiburg

Objective: To determine the role of undifferentiated and dysregulated affects in somatoform disorders by using a multimethod assessment approach of alexithymia. Methods: Forty patients with ICD-10 somatoform disorders (SoD) and 20 healthy controls, matched for age, education and sex, were included in the study. Alexithymia was assessed using the...

Objective: There are no studies investigating the efficacy of short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy in primary fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS). We conducted a randomized controlled trial evaluating an adapted form of individual short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy (ASTPP) versus primary care management (TAU). The study focused on FMS patients with...

Somatoform disorders are characterized by high health care utilization and conflictual interactions with health care providers. The aim of the present study was to explore whether patterns of insecure attachment are a prominent feature of somatoform disorder. In addition, the links between insecure attachment and health care utilization were evalua...

This paper considers the role of disturbances in affect regulation in the development and course of somatoform disorders. We first give an overview of contemporary theories in the field of psychosomatic medicine that links deficits in emotion regulation to the process of somatization, and then review recent empirical research that focuses on the as...

This study examined the prevalence of unresolved attachment-related trauma and its association with physical and psychological health status in 34 patients with fibromyalgia. Unresolved trauma was assessed with the Adult Attachment Interview. In addition, participants completed self-report measures of childhood trauma, fibromyalgia-related health s...

Background: Primary fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is associated with substantial psychiatric comorbidity. The aim of the present study was to investigate the interrelationship between self-reported symptoms of depression and pain in FMS compared with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods: In a cross-sectional study, 100 patients with FMS and 50 patie...

Objective: Emotion regulation is a key issue for many psychiatric and psychosomatic disorders, including eating disorders. Eating disordered patients (EDP) show high levels of depressive comorbidity, and there is much uncertainty about disorder-specific deficits. This study is aimed at delineating disorder-specific disturbances of emotional percep...

Schwierige Beziehungsmuster, wie sie sich infolge eines spezifischen Krankheitsverhaltens in der Patient-Arzt-Interaktion entwickeln, gehören zu den zentralen behandlungsbedürftigen Aspekten von somatoformen Störungen. Aus der Perspektive der Bindungsforschung lassen sich die Beziehungsschwierigkeiten von Patienten mit somatoformen Störungen als Au...

Family reconstruction is a central and integral component of family therapy training, which has subsequently become a separate and accepted method of group therapy. In the context of inpatient treatment it facilitates involvement of family members in family group sessions and provides for the individual patient the possibility of intensive family-o...

Ausgehend von der von Hoffmann und Egle vorgeschlagenen Beschreibung unterschiedlicher psychodynamischer Erklärungsprinzipien psychogener Schmerzen werden Störungen der Affektregulation untersucht, die der Entstehung somatoformer Schmerzen zugrunde liegen. Eine Form der Affektregulationsstörung, die durch eine besonders geringe Zugänglichkeit zum e...

Ausgehend von einer Skizzierung einiger zentraler Annahmen und Befunde der Bindungstheorie werden unterschiedliche Formen der Angststörung mit Charakteristika der Bindungsentwicklung in Beziehung gesetzt. Die generalisierte Angststörung wird in Zusammenhang mit der Entwicklung einer unsicher ambivalenten Bindung gesehen, bei der Defizite der Trennu...

Various psychodynamic processes may underlie the development of psychogenic pain disorder such as conversion, the displacement of affect, or narcissistic defenses. However, many of the processes suggested are related to a disorder of affect regulation. The term affect regulation in psychoanalytic literature refers to phenomena which are often descr...

To determine the role of undifferentiated and dysregulated affects in somatoform disorders by using a multimethod assessment approach of alexithymia. Forty patients with ICD-10 somatoform disorders (SoD) and 20 healthy controls, matched for age, education and sex, were included in the study. Alexithymia was assessed using the Toronto Alexithymia Sc...

Somatoform disorders are not only marked by somatic symptoms, but also by significant disturbances in interpersonal relationships. Interpersonal difficulties – including the maladaptive pattern of illness behavior and the resulting difficult doctor-patient-relationship – are an important field of therapeutic intervention (Nickel u. Egle 1999). The...

The study investigates individual differences in the mental representation of attachment and their impact on the cortisol response to psychosocial stress in idiopathic spasmodic torticollis (IST). It was hypothesized (a) that in IST insecure attachment is more prevalent than in a non-clinical control group and (b) that subjects with dismissing atta...

Theoretical issues and research emphasis within the field of of attachment theory have shifted from attachment behavior "to the level of representation" (Bretherton, 1985) since the middle of the 80ies. The paper presents an overview on basic assumptions, research methodology, and empirical findings in the field of attachment research. Four issues...

We investigated alexithymia and the mental representation of attachment in idiopathic spasmodic torticollis (IST). It was hypothesized a) that alexithymia in IST is more prevalent than in a nonclinical control group and b) that significant correlations emerge between alexithymia and a dismissing attachment representation. Twenty patients with IST a...