Casebook of Psychosomatic Medicine

The practice of medicine is both learned and advanced through the compilation
and study of cases-vignettes that record the presentation, diagnosis, and
treatment of individual patients and diseases. This is especially true of
psychosomatic medicine (PSM), which depends on the "compelling case" to distill
clinical knowledge and communicate it to students, residents, and clinicians. An
invaluable contribution to the field, the Casebook of Psychosomatic Medicine
describes the psychiatric symptoms and/or illnesses managed by the PSM
psychiatrist in collaboration with other medical colleagues. The book presents a
broad range of cases illustrating the medical, psychosocial, and intertwined
situations psychiatrists are likely to encounter in an academic medical center
setting.

No other single volume offers a broader range of engaging,
detailed, and nuanced PSM cases, or grounds them so firmly in a psychiatric,
psychosocial, and spiritual context. Here are just a few of this
patient-centered book's most impressive and useful features: The relevant
science underlying each case is addressed in discussion sections, allowing the
book to be read as a stand-alone volume. Alternatively, the cases can be read as
instructive and insightful illustrations by the reader who has already absorbed
the fundamentals of PSM from standard textbooks in the field. This
user-friendly book is organized by the organ system or disease type of the
presenting illness or symptom. Content rare in volumes of this kind includes
detailed coverage of the diagnosis and management of cognitive disorders; the
management of drug toxicity states; determinations of decisional capacity for
medical decision making; and "stress and adaptation", an issue the PSM
psychiatrist encounters daily. The authors strongly believe that one of the
most crucial roles for the psychiatrist is in the medical center, and the book
reflects that orientation. The book addresses the importance of understanding
the impact of patients' systemic illnesses on their psychiatric symptoms, and
modifying interventions and care accordingly. These abilities are critical to
sound PSM practice.

Although PSM has a long and noble history, it is the
newest of the psychiatric subspecialties, and as the literature expands, more
and more clinicians will incorporate PSM treatment modalities into their
practice. The Casebook of Psychosomatic Medicine is an essential contribution to
that body of knowledge and establishes a new standard with which to face the
future of this exciting field.