Approach and therapeutic intervention in Hypochondriasis or illness anxiety from brief cybernetic – constructivist therapy

Abstract

Hypochondriasis or illness anxiety is a complex disorder known for its difficulty in responding to both pharmacological and psychotherapeutic treatment, presenting a low recovery rate. Traditionally, pharmacological treatment has been used as the most effective therapeutic intervention for this disorder, relegating psychotherapeutic treatment to the background. The hypochondriac disorder generates in those who suffer from it, serious emotional, family and social consequences, constituting a public health problem. The objective of this article is to know the relational dynamics and the evolutionary cycle of the hypochondriac disorder. A cybernetic systemic analysis will be used to address the disorder and propose a model of functioning and psychotherapeutic intervention. Finally, an ecological and systemic model of the hypochondriac disorder is shown, as well as the stages of the evolutionary cycle. It is concluded that the cybernetic systemic approach is adequate to propose a model of functioning, understanding and treatment for hypochondriac disorder.