This book focuses on the assessment and treatment of patients with somatic symptoms, based on biopsychosociospiritual model. Specific assessment skills and treatment techniques are required to approach them effectively. A broad spectrum of knowledge about stress is also needed because stress is closely related to the onset and course of disorders with somatic symptoms. This book consists of four parts. Part 1 ‘Stress’ explores stress, vulnerability, and resilience; intermediate mechanisms between stress and illnesses such as psychoendocrinology and psychoimmunology; the measurement of stress; and the relationship between stress and accidents. Part 2 ‘Somatization’ deals with the concept, mechanisms, assessment, and treatment of somatization. In addition, somatic symptom and related disorders in DSM-5 is included. However, the approach to chronic pain is separately added to this part because pain is a major concern for patients with these disorders. Part 3 ‘Specific physical disorders’ mainly deals with common and distressing functional physical disorders as well as major physical disorders. Therapeutic approach for individuals at risk of coronary heart disease is also included. Part 4 ‘Religion, spirituality and psychosomatic medicine’ emphasizes the importance of a biopsychosociospiritual perspective in an approach for patients with somatic symptoms, especially depressed patients with physical diseases and patients with terminal illnesses because of the growing need for spirituality in such patients. This book explores stress and a variety of issues relevant to the assessment and treatment of disorders with somatic symptoms in terms of biopsychosociospiritiual perspectives. It will be of interest to researchers and healthcare practitioners dealing with stress, health and mental health.

This open access book sets out the stress-system model for functional somatic symptoms in children and adolescents. The book begins by exploring the initial encounter between the paediatrician, child, and family, moves through the assessment process, including the formulation and the treatment contract, and then describes the various forms of treatment that are designed to settle the child’s dysregulated stress system. This approach both provides a new understanding of how such symptoms emerge – typically, through a history of recurrent or chronic stress, either physical or psychological – and points the way to effective assessment, management, and treatment that put the child (and family) back on the road to health and well-being.

The definitive treatment textbook in psychiatry, this fifth edition of Gabbard's Treatments of Psychiatric Disorders has been thoroughly restructured to reflect the new DSM-5® categories, preserving its value as a state-of-the-art resource and increasing its utility in the field. The editors have produced a volume that is both comprehensive and concise, meeting the needs of clinicians who prefer a single, user-friendly volume. In the service of brevity, the book focuses on treatment over diagnostic considerations, and addresses both empirically-validated treatments and accumulated clinical wisdom where research is lacking. Noteworthy features include the following: Content is organized according to DSM-5® categories to make for rapid retrieval of relevant treatment information for the busy clinician. Outcome studies and expert opinion are presented in an accessible way to help the clinician know what treatment to use for which disorder, and how to tailor the treatment to the patient. Content is restricted to the major psychiatric conditions seen in clinical practice while leaving out less common conditions and those that have limited outcome research related to the disorder, resulting in a more streamlined and affordable text. Chapters are meticulously referenced and include dozens of tables, figures, and other illustrative features that enhance comprehension and recall. An authoritative resource for psychiatrists, psychologists, and psychiatric nurses, and an outstanding reference for students in the mental health professions, Gabbard's Treatments of Psychiatric Disorders, Fifth Edition, will prove indispensable to clinicians seeking to provide excellent care while transitioning to a DSM-5® world.

This book, with contributions emanating from the 21st World Congress of Psychosomatic Medicine held in Seoul in August 2011, presents the latest evidence-based information about the mechanisms, assessment, and management of psychosomatic disorders from a biopsychosociocultural perspective. Somatization is a process characterized by excessive or inappropriate focus on physical symptoms that are medically unexplained. It is highly prevalent in primary care medicine, as somatoform (psychosomatic) disorders tend to be chronic and can cause significant personal suffering and social problems as well as financial burden.​ ​

Sometimes described as "the nemesis of the primary care physician," somatoform disorders are frustrating, expensive to treat, and under-investigated. Somatic Presentations of Mental Disorders provides a fascinating and practical review of the epidemiology, diagnosis, and treatment of this ill-defined category of disease. Somatic Presentations of Mental Disorders summarizes the proceedings of a unique international conference that convened experts from across disciplines to review perspectives on somatoform disorders. The broad range of experience and specialization results in a compendium that addresses both theoretical and practical issues presented in somatoform disorders. For the researcher, the book offers a thorough and critical overview of the research landscape, surveying and synthesizing the available literature from around the world on all aspects of the disorder. Acknowledging the unique challenges presented in studying such a heterogeneous collection of disorders, the authors identify specific gaps in the research literature. Somatic Presentations of Mental Disorders also addresses controversial issues of nosology in advance of the publication of DSM-V. Despite its utility for researchers, the book primarily serves as an invaluable reference and resource for the practitioner. Organized with the clinician in mind, Somatic Presentations of Mental Disorders surveys the latest data on phenomenology; etiology and clinical course; and treatment options. Unlike other literature on this difficult topic, the authors thoroughly explore the entire range of this category of disorders, including conversion disorder, chronic pain and fatigue, and the multitude of presentations of medically unexplained symptoms. Aimed at both primary care and mental health practitioners, the book addresses crucial issues for effective diagnosis and treatment, including: Comorbidity and association with anxiety and depressive disorders Unique insights into cultural factors affecting the presentation and treatment of somatic disorders around the globe The prevalence of misdiagnosis, and contemporary diagnostic tools and techniques to help avoid a missed organic diagnosis The complicated interrelationship of somatoform disorders and substance abuse The efficacy of various treatment modalities, including pharmacology and cognitive behavioral therapy Collaboration between primary care and mental health providers to maximize treatment outcomes Comprehensive, thoughtful, and up-to-date, Somatic Presentations of Mental Disorders is a must-have both for researchers in the field and for clinicians with somatizing patients.

The Encyclopedia of Adolescence breaks new ground as an important central resource for the study of adolescence. Comprehensive in breath and textbook in depth, the Encyclopedia of Adolescence – with entries presented in easy-to-access A to Z format – serves as a reference repository of knowledge in the field as well as a frequently updated conduit of new knowledge long before such information trickles down from research to standard textbooks. By making full use of Springer’s print and online flexibility, the Encyclopedia is at the forefront of efforts to advance the field by pushing and creating new boundaries and areas of study that further our understanding of adolescents and their place in society. Substantively, the Encyclopedia draws from four major areas of research relating to adolescence. The first broad area includes research relating to "Self, Identity and Development in Adolescence". This area covers research relating to identity, from early adolescence through emerging adulthood; basic aspects of development (e.g., biological, cognitive, social); and foundational developmental theories. In addition, this area focuses on various types of identity: gender, sexual, civic, moral, political, racial, spiritual, religious, and so forth. The second broad area centers on "Adolescents’ Social and Personal Relationships". This area of research examines the nature and influence of a variety of important relationships, including family, peer, friends, sexual and romantic as well as significant nonparental adults. The third area examines "Adolescents in Social Institutions". This area of research centers on the influence and nature of important institutions that serve as the socializing contexts for adolescents. These major institutions include schools, religious groups, justice systems, medical fields, cultural contexts, media, legal systems, economic structures, and youth organizations. "Adolescent Mental Health" constitutes the last major area of research. This broad area of research focuses on the wide variety of human thoughts, actions, and behaviors relating to mental health, from psychopathology to thriving. Major topic examples include deviance, violence, crime, pathology (DSM), normalcy, risk, victimization, disabilities, flow, and positive youth development.

Pilowsky presents a general introduction to the early recognition and management of abnormal illness behaviour, and suggests ways to identify such behaviour, offer appropriate psychological care and provide specialist psychiatric help.