In his article “Different conceptions of mental illness: consequences for the association with patients” Helmchen rightly cautions against any kind of dogmatism in psychiatry, regardless of whether it is a social, a psychological or a biological one. Instead, he favors the biopsychosocial model as a remedy for “the narrowing of conceptions that depict only partial aspects of mental illness” (He...

Background. Osteopathic philosophy and practice are congruent with the biopsychosocial model, a patient-centered approach when treating disease, and the view of the person as a unity (i.e., body, mind, and soul). Nevertheless, a unity of being should involve a systematic person-centered understanding of the patient's personality as a biopsychosociospiritual construct that influences health (i.e...

BACKGROUND Our study evaluated progression of and identified potential factors contributing to outcomes of ROME III defined-functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) in children treated symptomatically in a biopsychosocial model of care with a long-term follow-up. METHODS We performed a retrospective review of pediatric patients who were diagnosed with ROME III defined-FGIDs including fun...

Since Mesmer, there has been much confusion about the inter-relationship between an individual's degree of hypnotizability, the personality style of the individual and the importance of the therapeutic strategy. Empirical and experimental research supports the hypotheses that there are: 1) biopsychosocial components of hypnotizability on a continuum ranging from ecologically insensitive (not mo...

This study examined the biopsychosocial characteristics of chronic low back pain (CLBP) in an understudied but increasingly larger part of the population: the elderly (i.e., 65 years and older). A new innovative physical functioning measure (postural control, which is a proxy for the common problem of slips and falls in the elderly) was part of this biopsychosocial evaluation. Also, the Nationa...

A coherent conceptualization of the role of psychological factors is of great importance in understanding mental disorder. Academic articles and professional reports alluding to psychological models of the etiology of mental disorder are becoming increasingly common, and there is evidence of a marked policy shift toward the provision of psychological therapies and interventions. This article di...

medical practice; rather in significant part it is engaged in special interest advocacy, pursuing and preserving social power’ [ 5 , p. 11]. How could Engel and Holman identify the dangers of special interest groups, as they are sadly known these days [6] , in the 1970s is astonishing. Biomedical reductionism is the key to the success of pharmaceutical propaganda [6] , and not surprisingly psyc...