The Child and His Symptoms: A Psychosomatic Approach

Paed ? ^??k reflects most aptly the change in orientation which has occurred in tjji ,'.atric practice. This has not come about in isolation but is part of the new Fr Kln8 of the twentieth century, so profoundly influenced by the creative works of eye and his followers. No longer can any sensible, sensitive doctor turn a blind ? what lies behind the patient's illness and who the patient is. % quoting the nineteenth century Caleb Parry: 'It is more important to know what sort of patient has the disease than the a what SOI"t of disease the patient has" hist ^ors exemplify their standpoint. This work is a milestone in paediatric djs for it makes the reader aware that in a variety of everyday children's c0 5rs there is a world of emotional involvement pari passu with the organic bre ltlon. An innumerable number of disorders are to be found ranging widely from ^esit an<^ 'n^an* fading to accidents, the handicapped child, skin disorders and ?f (1^t'10ugh this book is a valuable contribution and will enable a large number c0 ?ptors to look at their patients and the parents in a new light which may help oferably, this book is somewhat disappointing for the doctor who already knows t0o Psychosomatic approach. It may be unduly critical and it may be expecting H}uch from a work of this kind, but I wonder if it wouldn't have been more <]0 ,ningful if the authors had told us more and in greater detail of what they actually dis ln management of the individual problem. For example on page 147, when Ussjng food refusal, they write: the remedy is not criticism but explanation, discussion and suggestions, Using words and examples that show that the doctor appreciates her Problem, not only at the level of cold reason but also with warm feeling". t? i ^fronted by such a problem, is the doctor enabled by the measures outlined is tr ?W w^at to do? And what in fact is meant on page 4 by "if the whole patient ^he reac^er referred to the chapter on "Reassurance" but whilst all ^?rk c^aPter saYs is true, above all practical and part of many doctor's daily ' it did not provide me with a modus operandi. itj Would have been helpful if something had been said of the need for privacy ?1 c'rcumstances without nurses, students or the …