Articles

Adelina Kraja

In previous studies, aerobic exercise has been shown to be effective, for short-term reduction of pain. Often, the unpleasant emotions that the person improperly expresses, accumulate in the body and then burst out in form of pressures, pains or various anomalies. One of the modalities that allows expressing feelings and helps strengthen positive attitudes, through respectful and non-sexual physical contact and emotional proximity, is bonding psychotherapy (BPT).

In the study, we examined the role of BPT in helping patients with chronic pain, using questionnaires CORE-OM (Clinical Outcomes and Routine Evaluation – outcome measure), the SWLS (Satisfaction with Life Scale) and VAS (Visual analog scale).  In the study, we tested, whether the 3-month program (three workshops) will show a significant improvement in life satisfaction, and a decrease in pain in patients, and we also checked the clinical outcomes of treatment.

We found out, that the level of pain, after three BPT workshops, in patients in the experimental group, decreased. In comparison with persons in the control group (those who did not visit BPT), patients in experimental group are more satisfied with their lives, after three months, and their level of distress decreased. The results we have obtained give an overview of the effects of BPT and confirm positive changes in the pain in patients with chronic pain syndrome. Given the results, it would be sensible for the public to be informed about the positive effects of therapy and to encourage patients with chronic pain to participate in therapy.

ERCE MATEJA RESEARCH

– Association of Bonding Psychotherapists of Slovenia (ZBPS)
– Responsible person of the institution: Bogdan Polajner, PhD
– Coordinator of the research: Mateja Erce, dipl. Biopsychologist, specialist of BP

Abstract: Stress is a current social and health problem because it affects humans adversely on a wide range of problems, disorders, and illnesses, as well as affects interpersonal relationships. Therefore, we wondered in the master’s thesis whether, by administering BPT, we would successfully and statistically significantly reduce cortisol levels as an indicator of stress.

By the means of saliva withdrawal, using questionnaires (CORE-OM questionnaire, PSS-14 – The Perceived Stress Scale, Relational Needs Scale, Self-Compassion Scale, Relationship Questionnaire and WHO-5) we wanted to determine if there are changes in interpersonal relationships, attachment, and compassion for ourselves in 16 BPT workshop users and 12 control group participants.
We also wanted to determine whether there is a difference in the morning cortisol levels of persons who have been abused or neglected as children, which we were unable to verify due to the lack of such participants.
The results showed that our hypotheses could not be confirmed, as there are no significant differences in the studied variables between the experimental and control group. The reason is probably the small sample size and missing data. Due to the lack of data, we were not able to verify the effect of BPT on cortisol levels, but in morning cortisol levels we found improvement trends.
There were also improvement trends when it comes to changes in secure attachment style and self-compassion, decreasing in the expressiveness of symptoms and decreasing in well-being. Reliable conclusions, therefore, require continued studies on a larger sample and longer application periods of Bonding Psychotherapy workshops.