Psychosomatic Medicine

This comprehensive guide, Psychosomatic Medicine, explores psychosocial problems and offers practical insights for healthcare professionals in various settings.

Now in its fully revised and expanded second edition, Psychosomatic Medicine serves as the definitive global resource on psychosocial problems. This edition introduces several new chapters and features extensively updated contributions from experts in the field. It adopts a uniquely global perspective, laying the foundations of biopsychosocial basic care while providing relevant information on common mental and psychosomatic disorders. The book also extends its focus to cultural aspects of individual clinical presentations, incorporating new insights from regions such as China, Latin America, Russia, Iran, India, Africa, and Myanmar, with particular attention to migration and mental health issues.

Divided into four comprehensive sections, Psychosomatic Medicine begins by elucidating the relationship between psychosomatic medicine and primary care. The subsequent section outlines best practices for diagnosing prevalent biopsychosocial problems and addresses common communication challenges faced by healthcare professionals. Topics include biopsychosocial anamnesis, delivering bad news, and fostering effective communication with families and health systems. The third section delves into specific psychosomatic issues, including depressive disorders, posttraumatic stress disorder, addiction, and eating disorders, among others.

The final section emphasizes the importance of developing psychosomatic medicine within international contexts. Each chapter integrates essential theoretical concepts with practical skills, ensuring that the content is trans-culturally sensitive—crucial for working with diverse patient populations. Psychosomatic Medicine is an invaluable reference for doctors across various specialties, nursing staff, social workers, and clinical health psychologists.