Casebook of Psychosomatic Medicine

There is no better way to learn psychosomatic medicine than through stories about patients. In this first and only casebook in our recently-accredited subspecialty, Dr. Bourgeois and his colleagues present us with a treasure trove of hauntingly familiar psychiatric consultations on patients with complex and severe medical and psychiatric illness. Each case is accompanied by a discussion based on clinical acumen and available evidence from the literature, providing trainees and faculty with a remarkable paradigm for learning and teaching psychosomatic medicine. Mary Ann Cohen, M.D., Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Mount Sinai School of Medicine In this clearly conceived and well-written text, Bourgeois and colleagues have canvassed the key clinical issues in psychosomatic medicine. The book is organized around patient cases, which serve as the platform for valuable discussions of cardinal features of disease, current evidence, and rigorous decisionmaking and intervention strategies Casebook of Psychosomatic Medicine is a welcome book that is certain to aid physicians and physicians-in-training throughout all of medicine. Laura Weiss Roberts, M.D., M.A., Charles E. Kubly Professor & Chairman, Dept of Psychiatry & Behavioral Medicine, Professor of Bioethics, Dept of Population Health, Medical College of Wisconsin This is a compulsively readable and engaging account of the challenges and rewards of practising Psychosomatic Medicine. It is a treasure trove of clinical wisdom, resulting from the authors' many years in the trenches, and scholarly reflections on their experiences.The book is a unique contribution to the literature in the extent and richness of the clinical presentations,and the seamless integration of psychological, biological,and sociocultural understanding of each case. Maurice Steinberg, M.D., Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Albert Einstein College Of Medicine, Attending Psychiatrist, Long Island Jewish Medical Center It's as if the reader has joined teaching rounds with Dr. Bourgeois and colleagues where you become immersed in the exciting world of psychosomatic medicine. This jewel of a casebook is interspersed with teaching pearls throughout, reminding us that our patients are our best teachers! Linda L.M. Worley, MD, Professor, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, Departments of Psychiatry & Obstetrics & Gynecology

The Casebook of Psychosomatic Medicine brings to life the patients whom psychosomatic medicine serves and the variety of challenges they face—classic psyche–soma involvement; psychotic attributions to physical illness; catastrophic events and injuries; major systemic medical challenges with comorbid psychopathology; and more.

The practice of medicine is both learned and advanced through the compilation and study of cases—vignettes that record the presentation, diagnosis, and treatment of individual patients and diseases. This is especially true of psychosomatic medicine (PSM), which depends on the "compelling case" to distill clinical knowledge and communicate it to students, residents, and clinicians. An invaluable contribution to the field, the Casebook of Psychosomatic Medicine describes the psychiatric symptoms and/or illnesses managed by the PSM psychiatrist in collaboration with other medical colleagues. The book presents a broad range of cases illustrating the medical, psychosocial, and intertwined situations psychiatrists are likely to encounter in an academic medical center setting.

No other single volume offers a broader range of engaging, detailed, and nuanced PSM cases, or grounds them so firmly in a psychiatric, psychosocial, and spiritual context. Here are just a few of this patient-centered book's most impressive and useful features:

• The relevant science underlying each case is addressed in discussion sections, allowing the book to be read as a stand-alone volume. Alternatively, the cases can be read as instructive and insightful illustrations by the reader who has already absorbed the fundamentals of PSM from standard textbooks in the field.
• This user-friendly book is organized by the organ system or disease type of the presenting illness or symptom.
• Content rare in volumes of this kind includes detailed coverage of the diagnosis and management of cognitive disorders; the management of drug toxicity states; determinations of decisional capacity for medical decision making; and "stress and adaptation", an issue the PSM psychiatrist encounters daily.
• The authors strongly believe that one of the most crucial roles for the psychiatrist is in the medical center, and the book reflects that orientation.
• The book addresses the importance of understanding the impact of patients' systemic illnesses on their psychiatric symptoms, and modifying interventions and care accordingly. These abilities are critical to sound PSM practice.

Although PSM has a long and noble history, it is...read more...