LVR-Klinikum Düsseldorf Hospital of the Heinrich-Heine University ...

The psychotherapeutic treatment concept is psychodynamically oriented.
Its conceptual framework is provided by the psychodynamic theory of
pathogenesis and its various treatment strategies. Individual and group
psychotherapy (psychoanalysis sessions) are supported and intensified
by approaches from behaviour therapy, trauma therapy, creative therapy
(so-called “non-verbal” methods) and a social therapy that empowers the
patients.
In the field of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, the focus is
clearly on strategies of psychotherapy. If drug treatment is indicated –
something which, in psychosomatic medicine, is understood as a
consequence of the limitations of the effectiveness and availability of
psychotherapeutic measures – this psychotherapy may be complemented
or supported by courses of drug treatment.
The intensive psychodynamic individual and group psychotherapy sessions
serve to uncover the pathogenic conflicts in which the neurotic disorders
are rooted. The technique of psychoanalytic-interactive psychotherapy
is particularly suitable for addressing the deficits in interpersonal
communication skills that can be so frequently observed in people suffering
from personality disorders. Family members are regularly asked to
participate in diagnostic-therapeutic interviews, and therapy interventions
are offered for couples and families. Each patient on the ward is assigned
a “primary carer” who is available throughout the treatment period for
discussions about everyday issues in connection with hospital routines and
related conflicts. Creative therapy sessions – art therapy, body therapy,
music therapy, ergotherapy – are organised once or twice per week for
individuals or small groups.
Art therapy uses creative media on a psychodynamic basis (colours, sound,
etc.). The personal experience of the artistic act and the subsequent verbal
and emotional reactions allow the patient to develop deep insights into his
own inner self. Body therapy and kinesitherapy can teach an individual to
experience his own and other people’s selves on a higher level of awareness,
to abandon fixed motion patterns and to extend the range of expression and
behaviour. Music therapy uses – mainly – the method of free improvisation to
uncover current emotional states, moods and experiences. Ergotherapy uses
handicraft techniques and materials for therapeutic purposes.
The social therapy group discusses practical and social issues, developing
and testing solutions, ultimately in role-playing models. One-on-one social
therapy sessions mainly serve to help individual patients to overcome
concrete social problems. All patients attend the physical education lessons
conducted by a gymnastics teacher. Patients are also provided an opportunity
to participate in autogenic training group sessions under the instruction of
a medical doctor. All these methods are coordinated in a target-oriented
individual therapy schedule. An integrated team of professionals with
different specialisations designs and coordinates the individual treatment
activities.
HealtHcare
Director
W. Tress, MD, PhD, Professor in
Psychosmatic Medicine and Psychotherapy
Senior Consultant
L. Joksimovic, MD, MPH
(since May 2009),
J. Kruse, MD, Professor in
Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy
(until April 2009)
Consultants
St. Dechering, MD
N. Hartkamp, MD (until 2005)
A. Jüttemann-Lembke, MD (until 2008)
Divisional Director of Nursing
P. Remmel
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