Clinical Research Directory

Participants will receive information on psychosomatic phenomena and over-listening of somatic manifestations (Session 1), interpretation and possible catastrophization of somatic manifestations even when they might be well-known health problems or potential physiological or para-physiological manifestations (Session 2), pain-proneness (Session 3) and mental pain and psychological distress in somatizers (Session 4). The second part of each session will be devoted to group cognitive restructuring, thus participants will be stimulated in verifying how the phenomena illustrated are in their lives and how they can be differently conceptualized in order to be less intrusive and less able to reduce their own functioning.

The control condition will include 4 sessions that will inform participants about well-being and lifestyles which can influence it. They will be articulated as follows. Session 1: illustrating the concept of lifestyle and well-being. Session 2 and session 3: illustrating healthy eating and steps to healthy eating. Session 4: illustrating physical exercise and how it promotes health.

Session 5-6-7: preselected painting works from the Uffizi Galleries (Florence) will be presented to the participants in order to trigger reflections and emotional responses on specific pain related topics. Session 8: visit the Galleria di Arte Moderna at Palazzo Pitti, in person. Each session will be aimed at facilitating emotional expressions and partecipants' behavioral activation and identifying thoughts associated with those emotions and, if appropriate, remodulating them in a functional way (cognitive restructuring). Session 9: share the experience of the previous meetings and to recap strategies and skills which could be implemented in FM participants' daily life to cope with their illness.