Psychosomatic medicine and consultation-liaison psychiatry: past, present, and future

Abstract

Although "psychosomatic medicine" and "consultation-liaison psychiatry" are imprecise terms, they continue to be useful in describing, respectively, theoretical constructs of the relationship between psychiatry and the rest of medicine and the day-to-day applications of these constructs. The history of these fields encompasses many contributions of psychoanalysis, including the formulation of specificity theory and the somotopsychic-psychosomatic process, as well as the work of Henry, Gregg, and Engel. Currently, their scope incorporates a large and expanding group of physical illnesses and clinical settings. Like the rest of medicine, these fields will continue to feel the effects of reduced federal support, a consumer-oriented society, and increased regulation. However, with advances in psychosomatic theory and broader clinical and research activity, including that stemming from biological psychiatry, the future of psychosomatic medicine and consultation-liaison psychiatry seems positive.