Psychotherapy can ease physical symptoms of patients with skin pathology.

To study features of social and psychological maladaptation and quality of life in patients with psoriasis.

To study psychotherapy role in quality of life improvement and social rehabilitation of patients with psoriasis and their family members for the period 2000–2015 in the Belarusian population.

One hundred and twenty four patients with cutaneous psoriasis, 12 patients with psoriatic arthritis and 42 healthy persons were studied. Quality of life, types of attitude towards the disease, level of social frustration, depression, level of social maladaptation, psychological defense mechanisms and patients attitudes towards psychotherapy were assessed.

There were detected among patients with psoriasis (especially with arthropathy form): social maladaptation, higher level of social frustration and depression (P < 0.05), decrease in quality of life (P < 0.001), the wider range of psychological defense mechanisms (negation, regression, substitution, reactive formation, P < 0.05). Maladaptive types of attitude towards the disease were presented in 24% patients with psoriasis and almost in 41% patients with arthropathy.

Psychotherapy can have a high potential for social rehabilitation and quality of life improvement for patients with psoriasis. Obtained data in social maladaptation indicate family therapy as an important therapeutic part for patients with psoriasis. Moreover, knowledge about patients psychological defense mechanisms can help to choose a direction and methods of individual psychotherapy of social maladaptation. This research shows also that psychotherapeutic approach and family psychotherapy remains underestimated in Belarus.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.