Psychosomatic medicine

Psychosomatic medicine, that aspect of medical treatment that considers the emotional and mental component of physical illness. Emotional and mental disturbances undermine a person's physical health. They can also make a person feel sick when there is no physical cause. Disorders linked with emotional disturbances include asthma, headache, ulcers, hypertension, neurodermatoses (chronic skin disorders), sexual dysfunction, gastrointestinal upsets, and rheumatoid arthritis, among others. A patient whose complaint is determined to be psychosomatic may be treated by a physician, psychiatrist (or other therapist), or both.