The Impact of Alexithymia on Treatment Response in Psychiatric Disorders: A Systematic Review

Pinna, Federica

Primo

Writing – Original Draft Preparation

;Manchia, Mirko

Secondo

Writing – Original Draft Preparation

;Paribello, Pasquale

Penultimo

;Carpiniello, Bernardo

Ultimo

2020-01-01

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Abstract

Treatment of psychiatric disorders relies heavily on a trial and error approach, often prolonging the time required to obtain symptomatic improvements. The identification of reliable predictors of treatment response is instrumental to enact an individualized approach. Alexithymia represents a personality trait reflecting an intrinsic difficulty in recognizing the emotional components of subjective experiences. Thus, its modulating role on treatment outcome has gathered substantial attention during the past years. In the present paper, we aimed at exploring the available evidence for Alexithymia role in influencing the treatment outcome on a wide range of psychiatric conditions by means of a systematic review.