Chronic pain is acknowledged as a phenomenological experience resulting from biological, psychological, and social interactions. Consequently, treatment for this complex and debilitating health phenomenon is often approached from multidisciplinary and biopsychosocial perspectives. One approach to treating chronic pain involves implementing…

Participants responded to a series of psychological, exposure and health questionnaires. Results suggest that effects of traumatic exposure on perceived health are partially mediated by increases in PTSD after exposure, supporting studies on the effects of stress on health. (BF)

An exciting period in mental and physical health research is beginning, resulting from a paradigm shift from an outdated biomedical reductionism approach to a more comprehensive biopsychosocial model, which emphasizes the unique interactions among biological, psychological, and social factors required to better understand health and illness. This…

The current study examined psychological and physical health outcomes of the written disclosure paradigm and the hypothesis that the principles of therapeutic exposure account for the beneficial effects of the paradigm. Participants were randomly assigned to either a written disclosure condition or a control condition. Reactivity to the writing…

Eating disorders than may beset teenagers and seriously affect their health are discussed. Facts about causes, symptoms, and treatments for anorexia nervosa and bulimia, a disorder which involves overeating, followed by self-induced vomiting or purging, are presented. (PP)

Reviews of studies of four groups (business executives, lawyers, Army officers, and working women) which demonstrate the health-damaging effects of alienation in certain life situations show that, when under stress, members of these groups who feel alienated fall ill, medically and/or psychiatrically. Three models are described which may explain…

A practical psychiatric experience for future nonpsychiatrists developed as part of a traditional medical student inpatient psychiatry clerkship is described. Weekly student conferences focus on the most complex cases encountered. The practical, interactional techniques used have helped reduce students' initial anxiety. (MSE)

Reported further data using a psychological diary technique designed to monitor emotional states over time. The principal factors identified were interpersonal stress, depression-isolation, and physical complaints. Items in both the interpersonal stress and depression-isolation factors tended to be related positively to physical complaints…