BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE This study aimed to identify aspects of the caregiving situation contributing to family caregivers' psychological well-being. METHODS Longitudinal cohort study with structured quantitative interviews 1, 3, 6, and 12 months post stroke. A subset of participants also completed surveys 18 and 24 months post stroke. Participants included individuals hospitalized for their f...

objective: diabetes is a chronic disease causing not only somatic complications like hyperglycemia, but also increased psychological consequences and impaired psychological well-being in diabetics. various psychological treatments have been applied so far to reduce the mental symptoms and promote the mental well-being of these patients. this study aimed at determining the efficiency of dialecti...

Well beyond its effects on the body, physical abuse spoils a child's future by jeopardizing its living "tools" to become a woman, a man, a parent. Several clinical vignettes will illustrate the various psychosocial damages of physical abuse as well as the coping strategies the child will use to outlive these threatening situations. We will then thouroughly explore the process that underlies the...

The occurrence of psychological alterations and cardiac disease in many patients exemplifies the complexity of psychosomatic and somatopsychic effects. Psychological factors including depression, anxiety and hostility influence the development, clinical expression and prognosis of heart disease. Accordingly, it is critical that clinically significant levels of distress are identified, both in h...

How important is pain as a topic for psychiatrists? A cursory glance at the index of a psychiatric journal suggests that it is of little interest, and yet as the authors of this monograph point out, pain cannot be defined other than as a psychological event and one, moreover, which occurs in 53% of psychiatric outpatients. We can no longer pretend that pain is a concern only for 'proper doctors'.

The currently promoted holistic health care model assumes a close interaction between the somatic and mental aspects (Sheridan, Radmacher, 1998). The past few years have recorded a considerable progress in the study into the psychological determinants of somatic illnesses. The domains representing the so-called behavioural sciences show, at different levels, the relationships between the physic...

This review illustrates how an innovative psychoneuroendocrine approach to endocrine patients may improve their management. Important psychological issues pertain to all the different phases of an endocrine disorder. Before disease onset, stressful life events may play a pathogenetic role and, together with chronic stress, may contribute to a cumulative burden also called allostatic load; psych...

Alopecia areata is a chronic probable auto immune skin disorder characterised by hair loss over the body. Though its psychological status has been debated over the ages presently we have research that points towards a psychosomatic causation of the disorder. The present review paper looks at the psychological factors in alopecia areata, the various studies and prevalence of psychiatric problems...