Case Histories in Psychosomatic Medicine

Selected cases from the clinical conferences conducted by the Psychiatric Service of the Massachusetts General Hospital are discussed from the point of view of this group's experience and approach to the understanding and handling of psychosomatic problems. Emphasis is on expanding psychiatric education, and the necessity of "team work" of psychiatrists, internists, surgeons, social workers, and psychologists is discussed. The book is planned with two chapters of preparatory material. The first chapter, which is concerned with principles and applications of psychosomatic medicine, gives a short review of the anatomic basis of emotional behavior and discusses three mechanisms of emotion, the evidence supporting emotions as a cause of disorders of function, the evidence that emotions may be one of the causes of lesions, selectivity of reactions, and psychophysiological sequences. The second chapter discusses the physicianpatient relationship and its role in therapy. Following this are 21 case reports and conference presentations that