Side effects of psychotherapy

Compared to research on the efficacy of psychotherapy, the investigation of side effects and risks in psychotherapy received little or no attention for a long time, and their existence was even considered taboo.

Initial reports of experiences were published in the early 1990s, indicating the presence of risks and side effects. Fortunately, this important topic has received more attention in the last 20 years, and this new and long-overdue "side-effect orientation in psychotherapy" has already yielded important classifications, instruments, and findings.

However, there is a lack of reliable and valid assessment methods for recording negative effects (for an overview, see Herzog et al., 2019). We have attempted to close this research gap by developing a questionnaire for recording negative effects in psychotherapy and validating it on a sufficiently large sample (Herzog et al., under review). This questionnaire is intended to be integrated into larger research projects in the long term and to serve as a monitoring tool for various therapeutic approaches.

Furthermore, studies investigating the side effects of psychotherapy are currently being implemented at the ZPP (Center for Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics).

Prof. Eva-Lotta Brakemeier, along with Prof. Bernhard Strauß, Prof. Michael Linden, Prof. Yvonne Nestoriuc, and Dr. Saskia Scholten, is a founding member of the RINEPS (Risks and Side Effects of Psychotherapy) interest group.

Prof. Dr. Eva-Lotta Brakemeier
Dr. Philipp Herzog

Herzog, P., Häusler, S., Normann, C., Brakemeier, E.-L. (2021). Negative effects of a multimodal inpatient CBASP program: Rate of occurrence and their impact on treatment outcome in chronic and treatment-resistant depression. Frontiers in Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.575837

Herzog. P., Lauff., S., Rief., W., Brakemeier, E.L. (2019). Assessing the unwanted – a systematic review of instruments used to assess negative effects of psychotherapy. Brain and Behavior. e01447. doi: 10.1002/brb3.1447.

Brakemeier, E.L., Herzog, P., Radtke, M., Schneibel, R., Breger, V., Becker, M., Spies, J., Jacobi, F., Heider, J., Zimmermann, J., Normann, C. (2018). Nebenwirkungen einer stationären Psychotherapie und der Zusammenhang mit dem Therapieerfolg: Das Cognitive Behavioral Analysis System of Psychotherapy (CBASP) zur Behandlung der therapieresistenten chronischen Depression. Psychotherapie Psychosomatik Medizinische Psychologie, 68(9-10):399-407.

Linden, M., Strauß, B., Brakemeier, E.L., Nestoriuc, Y., Scholten, S., Wasilewski, J. (2018). Definition und Entscheidungsschritte in der Bestimmung und Erfassung von Nebenwirkungen von Psychotherapie. Psychotherapie Psychosomatik Medizinische Psychologie, 68(9-10):377-382.

Schneibel, R., Wilbertz, G., Scholz, C., Becker, M., Brakemeier, E.L., Bschor, T., Zobel, I., Schmoll, D. (2017). Adverse events of group psychotherapy in the in-patient setting - results of a naturalistic trial. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 136(3):247-258. DOI 10.1111/acps.12747.