Psychosomatic Medicine in Germany

• Main Author: Carl Eduard Scheidt
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Vesnu Publications 2017-08-01
• Series: International Journal of Body, Mind and Culture
• Subjects: Psychosomatic medicine; Psychosomatic disorders; Treatment
• Online Access: http://ijbmc.org/index.php/ijbmc/article/view/95

Psychosomatic medicine developed in Germany after the Second World War as a multifaceted system of inpatient, day-patient, and outpatient treatment. The conceptual roots of post war psychosomatic medicine in Germany were in internal medicine (Victor von Weizäcker and Thure von Uexkuell) and in the psychodynamic and psychoanalytic tradition of G. Engels, Franz Alexander, and others. The implementation of psychosomatic medicine as a speciality of medicine in addition to psychiatry supported an integration of psychotherapeutic methods and interventions in medicine. Consultation-liaison (CL) services have contributed to the dissemination of psychosocial skills and interventions in the medical setting. Psychosomatic basic care curricula have improved the recognition  and treatment of psychosomatic problems and disorders in primary care.