[Psychotherapeutic treatment of patients with functional voice disorders].

Psychic factors in the development and maintenance of functional voice disorders call for a psychotherapeutic treatment of dysphonic patients. The voice symptom is considered as a creative achievement of the patient to cope with an internal conflict using the ego function of speaking in the social context. A large number of dysphonic patients require an orientation of psychotherapy towards their symptoms. Symptom-centered short-term psychotherapy on a psychoanalytic basis concentrates on a symptom focus which, being a generalized description of cognitive, affective and behavioural elements of speech-conflict situations, structures the psychotherapeutic work with the material of the manifestations of voice complaints in the psychosocial context. Working out the psychodynamic conflict constellation underlying the voice symptomatics enables the patients to develop alternatives of coping with the internal affective conflict and of arranging interaction patterns with emotionally significant persons.