Epigenetics of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Somatoform Disorders in the Course of Psychotherapy

This reported observational clinical study aims at identifying epigenetic markers in a sample of patients undergoing high dose inpatient psychotherapy suffering from a variety of psychiatric/psychosomatic diseases such as somatoform disorders, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety disorders and eating disorders.

The exact epigenetic markers that will be traced are yet to define.

The investigators believe that

1. Epigenetic patterns found in the group of psychiatric patients show differences from healthy controls
2. Different diagnosis show differences in epigenetic patterns as well
3. Epigenetic patterns correlate to the severity of the psychosocial disorder as measured in interviews or psychometric ratings
4. Epigenetic patterns can change under inpatient high dose psychotherapy
5. Changes correlate to clinical psychometric variables.

Inclusion Criteria:

• informed consent given by the patient
• adulthood to 65 years
• stabel physical health
• at least fluent in German language (as it is a group-therapy)

Exclusion Criteria:

• psychiatric disorder such as substance addiction, psychosis, schizophrenia.
• insufficient understanding of the terms and conditions of the study
• insufficient emotional stability to fill out the psychometric forms required for the study.