A clinic to evaluate and treat referred somatizing patients was established in the medicine clinic of a university medical center.
Method:
Fifty-four patients were evaluated and compared to an age- and sex-matched non-somatizing patient group.
Results:
Somatizing patients had increased rates of psychiatric and alcohol and substance abuse histories. Somatizing patients scored high on all subscales of the SCL-90 and were most frequently found in the Anxious/Moody Cluster of the MBHI. These patients also endorsed highly beliefs in medical problems as a focus of their lives.
Conclusions:
These patients' psychological beliefs set the stage for conflict in the medical setting. The implications of these results are discussed in relation to liaison clinics, early identification, and treatment approaches.
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