The Current State of the Concept of a Psychosomatic Disorder

Abstract

In general usage, the concept “psychosomatic disorder” is taken to refer to a category of somatic illness that has certain proposed characteristics. The viability of this category is examined by evaluating the supportability of its proposed characteristics. The conclusion is reached that the category is a very tenuous one at best. It is suggested, however, that it is possible and useful to distinguish between the core concept “psychosomatic,” which represents an approach to explanation, and the elaborated concept “psychosomatic disorder,” which is a nosological concept. Finally, two systems are described that attempt to systematize the relationship between psychological and somatic variables in the context of somatic illness.