Attributing some of the most widespread ailments to causes of psychological origin has become a clich. But, as this book explains, things are not quite so simple. A case of appendicitis cannot be treated by a session on the psychoanalyst's couch, and an ulcer, which has healed after undergoing intensive therapy, may reopen if the patient does not change his/her lifestyle. In health as in sickness, various biological, social and psychological factors continuously interact with each other. In this sense, all afflictions are indeed psychosomatic. The therapist's objective is to evaluate the situation from multiple vantage points and to favour a single perspective on the basis of the specific context and the patient's needs. Healing skills are grounded in the balanced nature of this evaluation and the subsequent treatment decisions.

Contents: Introduction - 1. Mind and Body - 2. The Psychosomatic Perspective - 3. Psychosocial Aspects of Sickness - 4. The Child's Psychosomatic Development - 5. Psychosomatic Equilibrium and Sickness - 6. Psychosomatic Medicine and Healthfulness - More on Psychosomatics.

Giancarlo Trombini teaches Clinical Psychology at the University of Bologna, where he also directs the Interdepartmental Centre for Psychosomatic Disorders.

Franco Baldoni is a researcher in the field of Dynamic Psychology and teaches Psychosomatic Medicine at the University of Bologna.