A systematic review of studies on the effectiveness of biosuggestive therapy in the correction of psychosomatic disorders: focus on disorders of the gut-brain interaction

Abstract

Background. The increasing pace of modern life, the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, the presence of somatic pathology and mental states are interconnected and have a direct cause and effect relationship. Psychological distress is often experienced as physical symptoms. Psychotherapeutic and psychocorrective methods recommended by the Rome Committee have become the standard of therapy for patients with functional gastrointestinal disorders or, according to modern terminology, disorders of the gut-brain interaction (DGBI). In adjustment disorders and many neurotic disorders against the background of chronic distress, psychocorrection, cognitive behavioral and other types of psychotherapy play an important role in addition to pharmacological correction. The method of biosuggestive therapy (BST) is the successor of hypnotherapy in Ukraine and, as an effective non-pharmacological psychocorrective approach, has recently gained considerable popularity in the correction of psychological disorders. The goal of our research was to analyze all publications available in 2023 on the experience of using and the results of the effectiveness of the BST as a method of intestinal-directed therapy, and in other clinical situations researched and published in the scientific literature. Discussion. As a result of our analysis, 21 works were selected that were presented in Ukrainian and foreign publications regarding the effectiveness of the biosuggestive therapy. When BST is used in patients with functional gastrointestinal disorders or DGBI, a decrease in the manifestations of the disease was noted in addition to a decrease in the severity of mental disorders. In forcibly displaced persons from the ATO zone and during military operations in Ukraine, the use of BST in chronic pain led to a decrease in symptoms of anxiety and depression, the level of stress and an increase in general well-being in stress-related conditions. The BST showed a reduction in behavioral disorders in children and adults. Conclusions. The BST method can be used to correct various psychosomatic and stress-related disorders, combined with functional and chronic diseases, endocrine pathology, behavioral problems of childhood and adolescence. The use of BST as a branch of gut-directed hypnotherapy needs further research with regard to different manifestations of DGBI, which will be presented in the near future.