A strategy for evaluating "psychogenic" symptoms.
Consultation and liaison psychiatrists are often asked to evaluate patients with physical symptoms in order to determine if those symptoms are emotionally caused. The author contends that the traditional way of approaching such patients involves an implied mind/body split and an implication of hidden psychological causes that antagonizes such patients needlessly. A case is discussed in which a different, strategic approach is taken such that the patient remains relatively open to the possibility of mental health assistance with her symptoms.
D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans; D011570:Psychiatry; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology