DOI: 10.52982/lkj233

Abstract: Medical doctors and therapists are challenged to focus on forming a fruitful therapeutic relationship with patients experiencing physical symptoms without clear medical causes. In positive psychosomatic medicine a five-step concept of therapy, represented by ‘the Five Fingers’ process of treatment involves empathic listening, understanding the patient’s specific expressions for the symptoms, uncovering subconscious meanings and the functions of the symptom in the patients’ life, exploring inner conflicts causing body reactions, and discovering the hidden language of the symptoms for the client and the social environment. Therapeutic interaction through phases of sensitive perception of feelings, understanding and naming contents, finding potentials and self-help resources, verbalizing value conflicts, and preparing the patient for self-help and change are described as a manual for the interview with the client and treatment planning. This interactive process aims to identify and address the triggers and root causes of symptom development, empowering patients to utilize their strengths, and ultimately to achieve changes and goal expansion for a successful therapeutic outcome, symptom reduction, and life balance.

Keywords: therapeutic process, positive psychosomatics, Positive Psychotherapy, therapeutic alliance, five fingers of therapy