Psychosomatic diseases are a group of diseases closely related to psychosocial factors but mainly manifested by somatic symptoms, involving respiratory, digestive, endocrine, and other systems. As a result, the lack of consensus on its diagnosis has plagued clinical treatment in internal medicine, surgery, and psychiatry for decades. In recent years, research on the pathogenesis of psychosomatic diseases has made significant progress. For example, Franz Alexander believes that unresolved subconscious conflicts are the main cause of psychosomatic disorders. The subconscious psychological conflict is caused by the changes in the functional activities of the autonomic nervous system, acting on the corresponding special organs and patients with susceptible qualities. Similarly, mental and psychological factors affect gastrointestinal sensory and motor functions through the autonomic nervous system, brain-gut axis, and neuroendocrine system. Meanwhile, gastrointestinal symptoms also affect emotions and behaviors through the brain-gut axis. In addition, the Cannon-Bard theory of emotional physiology and Pavlovian theory of higher neural activity types from quantitative research methods to study the relationship between conscious psychological factors, such as emotions, and measurable physiological and biochemical changes. In clinical work, the treatment of psychosomatic diseases has gradually shifted from emphasizing physical treatment to comprehensive treatment principles, that is, taking into account the psychological and behavioral aspects of the physical treatment of the primary disease. The main purpose of physical treatment of the primary disease is to control or relieve symptoms. To consolidate the treatment of psychosomatic diseases and reduce the recurrence of psychosomatic diseases, combining physical therapy with necessary psychotherapy would potentially obtain a more comprehensive curative effect.

Expands and refines the psychosomatic approach in clinical practice Psychosomatic medicine has developed methods to increase diagnostic accuracy and improve targeted therapeutic approaches in all fields of medicine. In this context, clinimetrics, the science of clinical measurements, provides unprecedented opportunities for psychosomatic assessment. This volume illustrates how this approach can be translated into everyday practice complementing and improving the medical interview. The most sensitive and reliable clinical methods are presented for evaluating specific psychosocial aspects of disease, i.e. childhood adversities, life events and chronic stress, lifestyle, sexual function, subclinical and affective disturbances, personality, illness behavior, well-being and family dynamics. Each chapter provides practical illustrations as to how crucial information can be obtained with specific methods individualized according to the patients' needs. A hyperlink is provided to a website that contains many of the instruments assessed in the volume. This book enables the reader to understand the value of the psychosomatic approach in clinical practice. It is intended to expand and refine the skills of clinicians who work in general and specialized medicine and psychiatry, whether physicians, psychologists or other health professionals.

Produced as a partnership between the American Psychiatric Association and the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and the National Institute on Drug Abuse, this thought-provoking collection of white papers: Examines nomenclature issues. Reviews genetic, brain imaging, postmortem, and animal model research and includes strategic insights for a new research agenda Outlines recent progress in developmental neuroscience, genetics, psychology, psychopathology, and epidemiology, focusing on the turbulent first two decades of life. Suggests a research agenda for personality disorders that uses a dimensional rather than the current categorical approach to diagnosis. Proposes a research agenda to evaluate the clinical utility and validity of adding relational disorders to DSM-IV. Reevaluates the relationship between mental disorders and disability, proposing that diagnosis and disability be uncoupled. Examines the importance of culture in psychopathology and the main cultural variables at play in the diagnostic process.

The Textbook of Pediatric Psychosomatic Medicine provides a comprehensive, empirically based knowledge of assessment and treatment issues in children and adolescents with physical illness. Scholarly, authoritative, and evidence based, it is the first volume of its kind and will help to define the field going forward. Addressing a very wide range of medical subspecialties, this volume is a first step for researchers who want to obtain a review of the psychiatric issues in their respective specialties. In addition, the book offers many special features, including An exceptionally strong section on psychopharmacology in the medical setting, which is complemented by a comprehensive set of reference tables on psychopharmacological agents, including doses, side effects, and indications for use in the physically ill child. Definitive chapters on less commonly reviewed topics that are of particular relevance for clinicians who treat physically ill children, including pediatric palliative care, Munchausen syndrome by proxy, and pediatric feeding disorders. Coverage of key legal and forensic issues in pediatric psychosomatic medicine. Presentation of material in graphical and tabular formats for maximal usefulness, including templates of specific questions for assessing common psychiatric symptoms and flowcharts illustrating step-by-step approaches to pain and somatoform disorders. Relevance to a broad range of professionals, including psychiatrists, pediatricians, psychologists, nurses, medical students, and social workers who work with children in medical settings. May be adopted as a textbook for psychology undergraduate classes, social work internships, and both general and child psychiatry residency training programs. The editors are recognized both nationally and internationally as being among the foremost experts for their respective fields, and they have assembled the leading practitioners of pediatric psychosomatic medicine to create this volume. The only complete text on pediatric psychosomatic medicine, this volume is destined to prove seminal in the field and indispensable in the clinician's library.

Psychosomatic Medicine (PM) is a rapidly developing subspecialty of psychiatry focusing on psychiatric care of patients with other medical disorders. PM practitioners strive to stay current with the latest research and practice guidelines in a burgeoning field involving complex interactions and combinations of illnesses. To address these challenges, this book provides practical instruction from PM clinicians, educators and researchers, covering core clinical concepts routinely used in practice.

The authors offer a practical method of mental health consultation in the medical setting and cover topics not included in standard child psychiatry and psychology texts, such as treatment adherence and organ transplantation. Overview chapters include a hands-on approach to the consultation process and pragmatic assessment guidelines. Succeeding chapters then address specific clinical situations, from delirium and mood disorders to organ transplantation and cancer. Additional chapters consider issues related to treatment and intervention: both individual and family psychotherapy, including cop

From the leading psychiatry department in the world, comes the second edition of this unique, symptom-oriented approach to the diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric diseases. Features coverage of all the salient features of psychiatric diseases as well as new emphasis on evidence-based algorithms, psychopharmacological advances, and the pediatric patient.