---
title: Can talking therapy help premenstrual symptoms? | Niyora
description: A talking therapy combining techniques to change negative thought patterns and explore personal stories has been found to work as well as SSRI medication for
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/a-womancentred-psychological-intervention-for-premenstrual-symptoms-drawing-on-2002/
---

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- Can talking therapy help premenstrual symptoms?

Study, 2002

# Can talking therapy help premenstrual symptoms?

A talking therapy combining techniques to change negative thought patterns and explore personal stories has been found to work as well as SSRI medication for moderate to severe premenstrual symptoms. Two case examples show symptom improvement.

 Early or limited evidence

Women who participated in a randomized trial of psychological treatment (2 case examples shown)

## What they did

Researchers developed and describe a psychological treatment that uses techniques to change thought patterns and explores personal stories to treat premenstrual symptoms. The paper includes two detailed case examples of women who received this treatment.

## What they found

The paper presents two case examples from women who participated in psychological treatment. The women showed improvement in premenstrual symptoms through the course of treatment sessions. The approach considers that symptoms result from a mix of life circumstances, beliefs, and emotional factors.

## What it means for you

Talking therapy may be an alternative to medication for some women with premenstrual symptoms. However, this paper describes the approach and shows examples rather than reporting full study results. The complete results were published separately. More research would clarify which women benefit most.

2

Case examples presented

## About the study

Original title A woman‐centred psychological intervention for premenstrual symptoms, drawing on cognitive‐behavioural and narrative therapy Authors Jane Maria Ussher, Myra Sally Hunter, Margaret Cariss Journal Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy Year 2002 Study design Study What was tested Talking therapy combining techniques to change negative thought patterns and explore personal stories Read the paper [doi.org/10.1002/cpp.340](https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.340)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Cognition, concentration and memory](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-cognition/)[SSRIs and antidepressants](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-ssri/)

Research tells you what helps on average. Niyora helps on the day it hits.

Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor.

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