Trial on Outpatients With Systemic Sclerosis Treated With Well-Being Therapy or With a Control Therapy

Randomized Controlled Trial for Testing the Efficacy of Well-Being Therapy in Patients With Systemic Sclerosis

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a rare and potentially life-threatening autoimmune disorder with a significant impact on health and quality of life. The non-pharmacological interventions address to psychological sequalae currently available are limited and have poor efficacy. Well-Being Therapy (WBT) is a brief psychotherapy which has shown efficacy in decreasing the relapse rates of depression in adults, in generalized anxiety disorder and in cyclothymia. WBT has never been tested in SSc and it might represent a useful complementary therapeutic option to improve SSc patients' well-being. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the psychological status of the SSc patients and to test the efficacy of WBT in a sample of SSc patients if compared to a control condition.

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a rare, multisystem, chronic autoimmune connective tissue disease characterized by fibrosis of the skin and internal organs, skin thickening, and decreased organ functioning leading to dermatologic, vascular, pulmonary, cardiac, gastrointestinal, neurological, musculoskeletal, and renal complications. SSc patients often suffer from psychological impairments, such as depression, anxiety about disease progression, body image dissatisfaction and low self-esteem. The non-pharmacological interventions for the treatment of the psychological sequelae of systemic sclerosis currently available are limited and have shown poor efficacy. Well-Being Therapy (WBT) is a brief psychotherapy which has been manualized in 2016 and has shown efficacy in randomized clinical trials. It showed to be effective in decreasing the relapse rates of depression in adults, it showed to be effective in generalized anxiety disorder and in cyclothymia. No psychological treatment aimed at empowering the level of psychological well-being rather than at working on distress in SSc patients have been implemented although it was shown that such kind of interventions directly increase the level of psychological well-being and indirectly decrease the level of psychological distress (i.e., anxious and depressive symptoms) in subjects affected by chronic diseases. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the psychological status of SSc patients with specific attention to suffering and mental pain, and to test the efficacy of WBT in SSc subjects if compared to a control condition. Thus, sixty outpatients with a diagnosis of SSc will be enrolled and will receive WBT or the control condition.

Inclusion Criteria:

1. able and interested in participating to the research, as proved by signed Informed consent;
2. a diagnosis of SSc (limited or diffuse) according to LeRoy et al. (1998);
3. age higher than 18 years

Exclusion Criteria:

1. co-occurrence of psychiatric disorder(s) according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of mental disorders, 5th edition (American Psychiatric Association, 2013) as diagnosed via the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview;
2. currently under psychotherapy;
3. change of the pharmacological treatment (including psychotropic medications) during the last three months.
4. any other condition that, according to the Investigators' opinion, may alter the ability of the patient to follow study procedures.