Measuring the effectiveness and efficiency of a communication training for medical specialists focused on patients with medically unexplained physical symptoms (MUPS).

To improve medical specialistic care for patients with medically unexplained physical symptoms (MUPS) by developing and researching the effectiveness and efficiency of a consultation skills training programme for medical specialists focused on MUPS-patients.

Training medical specialists in consultation skills focused on MUPS patients improves the specialistic care for these patients in terms of illness worries, course of symptoms and daily functioning and reduces the medical costs for this patient group.

1. Months 1-2: Preparation;

2. Months 3-20: Datacollection and intervention;

3. Months 21-24: Data-analysis and report.

Consultation skills training programme for medical specialists focused on patients with MUPS.

The programme consists of 4 training sessions with an interval of 4 to 6 weeks, in groups of 12 persons with 2 experienced trainers.

Training 1 consists of exploring complaints of patients on all aspects of SCEBS (Somatic, Cognitive, Emotion, Behaviour, Social environment).

In Training 2, informing the patient is the central subject (seek connection with his language etc). Explaining the conditions that maintain the current condition (vicious circles), registration of complaints and reattribution.

Training 3 treats techniques for tough anxiety (stop reassuring, interrogate catastrophic ideas, etc) and ways of refering and reporting back to the GP.

Training 4 gives space for presenting casuistry, where the doctor has worked with the new techniques.



The control group receives no training.