Funded by the German Federal Pension Agency (2019-2021)
Disability retirement due to mental illness has increased in recent years. Currently, the rate of new retirements due to mental illness is 36.5% (men) and 49% (women; DRV, 2017a). The German pension insurance demands to address psycho-mental health problems diagnostically and, if necessary, therapeutically during medical rehabilitation, or to initiate follow-up treatment.
The most obvious problem of mental illness is that patients experience difficulties with mental work demands. In the field of psychosomatic rehabilitation, data is available from several projects on the distribution and type of and, where appropriate, treatment approaches for capacity impairments in mental illness. The instrument for describing ability impairments, the Mini-ICF-APP, is now an established method in social medicine for mental illnesses and is recommended in guidelines (AWMF, 2019). It has gained international recognition, which is reflected in numerous translations and international validation studies.
However, to date no systematic data is available on the frequency, type and extent of capacity impairment in patients with somatic diseases. This project aims to close this gap. Thus, this study breaks new ground by generating empirical data on this question for the first time. It aims to illuminate how often and in which way patients with somatic illnesses and accompanying psychological symptoms also have capacity impairments. This is of great importance for enhancing psychodiagnostic expertise in treatment, and the quality of socio-medical reports, e.g. on work ability.
Project management: Prof. Dr Beate Muschalla
Research assistants: Anne Henning (M.Sc.), Diana Carolina Neue (Dipl.-Psych.)
Selected literature:
Hütte, R. & Muschalla, B. (2019). Tricky aspects in documentation of psychopathology, anamnesis, and work ability in medical reports from somatic rehabilitation. Behavioral Medicine and Rehabilitation Practice, in press.
Linden, M., Baron, S., Muschalla, B., & Ostholt-Corsten, M. (2015). Fähigkeitsbeeinträchtigungen bei psychischen Erkrankungen. Diagnostik, Therapie und sozialmedizinische Beurteilung in Anlehnung an das Mini-ICF-APP [Impairment of abilities in the case of mental illness. Diagnostics, therapy and socio-medical assessment based on the Mini-ICF-APP.]. Hogrefe. https://www.hogrefe.de/shop/faehigkeitsbeeintraechtigungen-bei-psychischen-erkrankungen-71713.html
Linden, M., Muschalla, B., Baron, S., & Ostholt-Corsten, M. (2018). Exploration mittels Mini-ICF-APP. Arbeits- und Leistungsfähigkeitsbeeinträchtigungen bei psychischen Erkrankungen. Ein Fallbeispiel [Exploration using MINI-ICF-APP. Impairment of work and performance in case of mental illness. A case study]. Berlin: Deutsche Rentenversicherung.
https://www.deutsche-rentenversicherung.de/Allgemein/de/Inhalt/3_Infos_fuer_Experten/01_
sozialmedizin_forschung/downloads/sozmed/klassifikationen/miniICF.html
Muschalla, B. (2014). Fähigkeitsorientierte Verhaltenstherapie bei psychischen Erkrankungen [Skill-oriented behavioural therapy for mental illness]. Verhaltenstherapie, 24, 48-55.
Muschalla, B. (2017). Diagnostik bei psycho-somatischen Komorbiditäts-Phänomenen [Diagnostics for psycho-somatic comorbidity phenomena]. Praxis Klinische Verhaltensmedizin und Rehabilitation, 100, 146-159.
Muschalla, B., Worringen, U., Hoppe, A., & Kalwa, M. (2019). Erfassung und Dokumentation psychischer Beschwerden, Erkrankungen und Fähigkeitsbeeinträchtigungen in der somatischen Rehabilitation [Registration and documentation of psychological complaints, illnesses and impairments of ability in somatic rehabilitation]. Ärztliche Psychotherapie, 14, 12-17.