Psychotherapeutic interventions before and after organ transplantation

Psychotherapeutic Interventions before and after Organ Transplantation. About 3,000 patients per year receive a transplant in Germany and some 13,000 patients are on waiting lists. Waiting period and the different stages of recovery demand special coping strategies from patients and their families. Psychological disorders are frequent before and after the transplantation and psychological risk factors are relevant for the outcome of the transplantation. Therefore special psychosomatic care for patients and their families is necessary. However, evidence based knowledge on appropriate therapeutic interventions is still scarce. In transplantation medicine, an overall approach is reasonable. Cognitive-behavioral aspects seem to be especially promising. The article describes strategies and techniques for the psychosomatic assessment of patients before transplantation and psychotherapeutic interventions for patients and their families before and after solid organ transplantation. More research on the effects of psychotherapeutic interventions in this field is necessary.