Importance of Psychosomatic Approach For Dermatological Diseases

Abstract

Within psychosomatic approach, patients are evaluated with a multifaceted holistic approach regarding his personality characteristics, his relations with social environment and psychiatric comorbidity in the context of a positive patient-physician relationship. There is a bi-directional relationship between the patients' minds and dermatological diseases; there are a wide variety of factors that cause dermatological disease and dermatological lesions effects persons in many ways. Personality characteristics effect how a person perceives his dermatological illness, adaptation to illness and the course of the illness. In a similar way, psychiatric disorders may be precipitated secondary to the dermatological diseases. Therefore, the management of patients with psychocutaneous diseases necessitates a comprehensive evaluation that moves beyond the visible lesion. Treating these patients with a multidisciplinary team that includes psychiatrist, clinical psychologists and psychotherapists besides dermatologists will increase the quality of health in these patients. (Turkderm 2010; 44 Suppl 1: 7-9)