[Psychodynamic psychotherapy, lifestyle and prevention]. / Psychodynamische Psychotherapie, Lebensstil und Prävention.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: Patients with mental disorders frequently manifest unhealthy behavior, which contributes to their increased risk for chronic mental and somatic diseases as well as excess mortality rates of 10 years and more. It also impairs their well-being and the course of mental disorders.We analyzed whether by addressing unhealthy behavior prevention can be integrated into psychodynamic psychotherapy. METHODS: We reviewed the literature on the role of unhealthy behavior for mental disorders, on the role of lifestyle risk factors in psychodynamic theory, and on barriers to the integration of addressing lifestyle in psychodynamic psychotherapy. RESULTS: Smoking, unhealthy dietary habits, and physical inactivity constitute dysfunctional behavior, resulting from maladaptive self-representations and an impairment of emotion-regulation capacities. In psychodynamic psychotherapy this maladaptive behavior can be addressed and treated as a kind of defensive behavior and resistance. CONCLUSION: We believe that by addressing unhealthy behavior prevention can become a crucial task for psychodynamic psychotherapists today.