Psychsomatic

Psychological symptoms of somatoform disorders will be part of their new definition in DSM-5. We developed the Somatic Symptoms Experiences Questionnaire (SSEQ) as a self-report questionnaire to assess important psychological characteristics of patients with somatoform disorders. Item selection and identification of factor structure, as well as reliability and validity have been checked in a sample of N=453 psychsomatic outpatients. Results of a principal components analysis with Promax-rotation suggested 4 factors (health worries, illness experience, difficulties in interaction with doctors, impact of illness)...

The discussion around the integration of a psycho-social approach in medicine concerning "patient-centred medical care" has gained increasing importance in the last few years especially at medical conferences and in text books. This importance has not been mirrored, however, in the daily life of hospital patients. A well-proven model of co-operation between psychiatric/ psychosomatic departments and other medical departments are the so-called consiliar/ liaison services. These have been developed in psychiatry and represent an especially close type of co-operation going beyond the classical and generally known counselling model...

Social scientists point to Japanese Society as having a high level of group cohesiveness that results from the psychodynamic need to mutual dependency in the Japanese personality structure, which is fostered by symbiotic mother-child relationship in childhood. Such a traditional interdependency seems to modify psychsomatic mechanisms in the Japanese inducing the preponderance of the types of reactions related to what is called 'vegetative retreat'. While over-indulgence to the maternal interdependence may threaten the development of an independent person, the severe deprivation of motherly love may, on the other hand, constitute the core of the modern crises...

During the past 25 years, Dr. Lawrence Young has played a major role in the evolution of the Medical-Psychatric Liaison Unit at the University of Rochester and in development of new psychsomatic concepts. Investigations of patients with leukemia and lymphoma highlighted the occurrence of separation and loss in the prodromal period of the illness, perphaps serving as precipitating role in its manifest development. Study of these fatally ill patients required scrutiny and clarification of the dying process through the past two decades...

Rheumatic diseases may be connected to varying degrees with psychic factors. On the one hand, rheumatic diseases may produce psychic reactions, while on the other hand rheumatic symptoms--especially in extra-articular rheumatism--may be induced by psychosomatic hysteric pararheumatic diseases and depressive mechanisms. Special reference is made to psychosomatically induced extra-articular rheumatic diseases in which not only the complex genesis but also the clinical symptomatology are discussed. During therapy more attention should be directed to psychic factors than in the past, as only an intensive psycho and/or psychopharmacotherapy can influence the disease...

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Medicopsychological and biochemical studies permitted to reveal changes in the psychoemotional and neurohumoral indices during formation and progression of cardiovascular neurosis to a protracted disease. Personality changes, interpersonal relations, the working capacity in some cases proceeds parallel to changes in the carbohydrate and lipid metabolism. In other cases these changes preceed deviations in the protein metabolism and blood coagulation properties in a protracted development of the disease. The data obtained point to a complication of psychsomatic disturbances in the course of cardiovascular neurosis development...