Description:
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>In this proof-of-concept study, we used a systems perspective to conceptualize and investigate treatment-related dynamics (temporal and cross-sectional associations) of symptoms and elements related to the manifestation of a common functional somatic syndrome (FSS), Globus Sensations (GS). We analyzed data from 100 patients (<jats:italic>M</jats:italic> = 47.1 years, <jats:italic>SD</jats:italic> = 14.4 years; 64% female) with GS who received eight sessions of group psychotherapy in the context of a randomized controlled trial (RCT). Symptoms and elements were assessed after each treatment session. We applied a multilevel graphical vector-autoregression (ml GVAR) model approach resulting in three separate, complementary networks (temporal, contemporaneous, and between-subject) for an affective, cognitive, and behavioral dimension, respectively. GS were not temporally associated with any affective, cognitive, and behavioral elements. Temporally, catastrophizing cognitions predicted bodily weakness (r = 0.14, <jats:italic>p</jats:italic> < 0.01, 95% confidence interval (CI) [0.04–0.23]) and GS predicted somatic distress (r = 0.18, <jats:italic>p</jats:italic> < 0.05, 95% CI [0.04–0.33]). Potential causal pathways between catastrophizing cognitions and bodily weakness as well as GS and somatic distress may reflect treatment-related temporal change processes in patients with GS. Our study illustrates how dynamic NA can be used in the context of outcome research.</jats:p>