This case study deals with an eight-year-old girl who developed persistent abdominal pain and vomiting for which no physiological cause could be discovered. After two months of un successful treatment for her illness, the girl was referred for a psychiatric consultation.
During the psychiatric interview, the psycho genic nature of the girl's illness became readily apparent, as did the nature of the conflict which had produced it.
The tendency is strong for psychogenic ill ness, such as this, to become chronic without psychiatric treatment. Many physicians are re luctant to apply clinically basic psychiatric techniques to the treatment of physical illness. A suggestion is made that closer collaboration between psychiatry and other medical special ties could be of great value in preventive medicine.
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