Changing Conceptualisations of Mind and Body

This chapter presents some key concepts relevant to an understanding of psychobiological and psychosocial processes in health and illness. Although the focus of this book is on psychobiological processes, the two are very closely related, so it is important to acknowledge the role of psychosocial processes before proceeding further. The biopsychosocial model of health is introduced and contrasted with the biomedical model of health. This discussion is set in the context of changing conceptualisations of mind and body and the emergence of ‘new’ fields of enquiry, including health psychology, behavioural medicine and psychoneuroimmunology. In so doing, we consider how advances in research are helping us to uncover the true complexity of links between psychological, social and biological processes with respect to their implications for health and how such advances may inform the development of new approaches to the treatment and prevention of illness. 1 THE MIND–BODY CONNECTION