Abstract: Objective: To investigate the mental health of patients with rheumatic diseases,explore the effects of psychotherapy on them.Methods: SCL-90 questionnaires were released to 80 patients in the rheumatism department and 66 valid questionnaires were retrieved;the results were compared with that of the normal.The 66 patients were randomly divided into study group and control group.The patients in the study group received psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy;the patients in the control group received pharmacotherapy only.Results: According to SCL-90,the score of the positive symptom,interpersonal relation and paranoia had no significant difference between patients with rheumatism and the control(P 0.05),but the other scores were significantly different(P 0.01).After 6 weeks of treatment,the total value of SCL-90,total split,somatization,depression,anxiety and other factor points in the study group were significantly higher than those in the control group(P 0.01).Conclusions: Patients with rheumatism often present some degree of mental psychotic symptoms,so psychotherapy should not be ignored.Psychotherapy can improve the mental health status and the overall curative effect of patients with rheumatism.