A woman centred psychological intervention for premenstrual symptoms : drawing on cognitive behavioural and narrative therapy

A women-centred psychological intervention for premenstrual symptoms, drawing on cognitive-behavioural and narrative therapy, has been developed. In a randomized control trial previously reported, this treatment was found to be as effective as SSRIs in reducing moderate or severe premenstrual symptoms. The purpose of this paper is to outline the multifactorial model of premenstrual symptoms that underpinned this intervention, describe the treatment in detail session by session, and present two case examples drawing on narrative interviews conducted pre and post treatment with the women who took part in the randomized control trial, in order to illustrate the process of change. It is argued that premenstrual symptoms arise from a complex interaction of material, discursive and intrapsychic factors, and that this needs to be taken into account when designing clinical interventions.