Reassurance Therapy: What to Say to Symptomatic Patients with Benign or Non-Existent Medical Disease

Abstract

Reassurance is one of the most important therapies that primary care physicians give; however, little has been written about it in the literature. This article suggests six steps needed for effective reassurance in patients with benign disease or symptoms not explained by disease. These include: 1) question and examine the patient, 2) assure the patient that serious illness is not present, 3) suggest the symptom will resolve, 4) tell the patient to return to normal activity, 5) consider non-specific treatment, and 6) follow the patient. Only if these systematic steps are followed will reassurance consistently work. Since examination of the patient is a critical component of reassurance therapy, it can most effectively be administered by individuals who include a physical assessment as a part of the clinical evaluation.