Psychological problems are often manifest in the skin. In fact, it is estimated that between 20% and 30% of all skin disorders have some psychological component. Many patients who have psychocutaneous disorders—which are often direct evidence of or secondary to psychological abberations—drift from one physician to another, trying to find one savvy enough to cure their “skin condition.” Furtherm...

Background: A high percentage of the patients referred to dermatologic clinics are either suffer from self inflicted disorders or from misinterpretation about their own health and organ integrity and or may suffer from different skin sensations including itching, pain, and burning; all of which may develop as a result of their underlying psychopathologies. Objective: Identification of underlyin...

The prevalence of psychosomatic disorders among dermatological patients is high but frequently unreported because of difficulties in diagnosing and treating this patient group. Psychiatric and psychological factors may play different roles in the pathogenic mechanism of some skin diseases. The mainstay of diagnosis and treatment is the differentiation between skin disorders associated with psyc...

BACKGROUND Dermatologists provide the bulk of psychocutaneous care; however, recent studies suggest that dermatologists believe they are largely underprepared to treat most psychocutaneous conditions. OBJECTIVE We sought to identify gaps in psychodermatologic knowledge among practicing dermatologists in two academic institutions. METHODS An online survey was sent to 59 dermatologists at the...

Background: Lichen simplex chronicus (LSC), nodular prurigo (NP), and neurotic excoriation (NE) are considered as psychogenic pruritus disorders. Atopic dermatitis (AD) is also classified by some as a psychocutaneous disorder to point out the influence of psychologic factors in its recurrence, persistence and precipitation. AD and psychogenic pruritus share many common features including immuno...