Cognitive behavioral therapy for menopausal symptoms

Abstract

This article describes cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for women with problematic menopausal symptoms, and provides the evidence from clinical trials of women going through the menopause, women with breast cancer treatment-induced symptoms and women with problematic symptoms in a work context. The CBT focus is primarily on vasomotor symptoms (VMS) but it also targets stress, low mood and sleep problems. CBT is a brief therapy (four to six sessions) that is theory- and evidence-based; it is acceptable to women and effectively reduces the impact of VMS, improves sleep and has benefits to quality of life. VMS frequency is also reduced significantly in some trials but not others. CBT has been found to be consistently effective when delivered in groups, self-help book and on-line formats (with or without additional support). The MENOS 1 and MENOS 2 CBT protocols are recommended for the treatment of VMS by the North American Menopause Society (2015); CBT has been recommended for the treatment of anxiety and depression for women during the menopause transition and post menopause (NICE, 2015); and telephone CBT has been shown to be an effective treatment for insomnia.

摘要

本文描述了认知行为疗法(CBT)对伴随合并症的有更年期症状妇女的治疗, 并提供了对处于更年期的妇女、由于乳腺癌治疗引起更年期症状的妇女和有与工作环境中相关的更年期症状的妇女进行临床试验得来的证据。CBT的重点主要是血管舒缩症状（VMS）, 但它也可以解决压力, 情绪低落和睡眠问题。CBT是一种基于理论和证据的简短疗法（四到六个疗程）；它能被女性所接受, 并有效降低了VMS的影响, 改善了睡眠并改善了生活质量。一些试验发现VMS的频率有显著降低, 但另一些试验中则未发现同样的结果。在以小组、自助书籍和在线的形式(有或没有额外支持)进行时, CBT被发现是持续有效的。北美更年期协会（2015）推荐使用MENOS 1和MENOS 2 CBT方案治疗VMS。CBT已被推荐用于治疗绝经过渡期和绝经后妇女的焦虑和抑郁(NICE, 2015)；电话CBT已被证明是治疗失眠的有效方法。

Keywords:

• Cognitive behavior therapy
• CBT
• hot flushes
• hot flashes
• non-hormonal treatment

Potential conflict of interest

The author reports no conflict of interest, but is author of two books that are referenced (Hunter & Smith 2015 and 2020 (2nd Ed). The author alone is responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

Source of funding

Nil.