Psychosomatic Medicine

Dear Colleagues,

Giovanni Andrea Fava, Editor-in-Chief of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, insists that psychosomatic medicine is not a synonym for consultation–liaison psychiatry and regarded as a comprehensive interdisciplinary framework for assessing psychological factors affecting individual vulnerability, course, and outcome of any type of disease (Fava GA et al. Curr Psychiatry Rep 12:215–221, 2010). This concept largely corresponds to our basic idea of the Japanese Society of Psychosomatic Medicine which defines psychosomatic illness as any physical condition involving organic or functional damage that is affected by psychological factors in the process of its onset or development (Nakao M & Takeuchi T. Int J Behav Med 23:580–588, 2016). Stress is the term used to define the body’s physiological and/or psychological reaction to circumstances that require behavioral adjustment. Specific illness may be caused when the suffering stressors are too intense and persistent. When people are vulnerable to stress because of their character and ability to adapt, psychosomatic illness is likely to occur even if the stressors are mild or moderate. The present Special Issue aims at clarifying the effects of psychosocial stress on medical conditions for diagnoses and treatments of psychosomatic illnesses. Epidemiological studies, clinical trials and proposals of theoretical models are welcomed for the understanding of psychosomatic illness conditions.

Prof. Dr. Mutsuhiro Nakao
Guest Editor

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