Are somatoform disorders 'mental disorders'? A contribution to the current debate

W. Rief, Mohan Isaac

    Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

    55 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Purpose of reviewDuring the last 2 years, a debate has started over whether the somatoform symptoms/medically unexplained symptoms are wrongly placed under the category of mental disorders (section F in International classification of diseases 10 and in Diagnostic and statistical manual for mental disorders-IV).Recent findingsMost experts on medically unexplained symptoms agree that there is a substantial need for revision of the diagnoses of somatoform disorders. While some authors suggest moving the somatoform disorders from axis I to axis III, others suggest improving the classification of these syndromes on axis I, such as by using empirically derived criteria and by introducing psychological descriptors which justify the categorization as a mental disorder. In contrast to the situation when the last version of Diagnostic and statistical manual for mental disorders was published, new empirical data has shown some psychological and behavioural characteristics of patients with somatoform symptoms. These and other empirically founded approaches can be landmarks for the revision of this section in Diagnostic and statistical manual for mental disorders-V and International classification of diseases-11.SummaryThe classification of somatoform disorders as 'mental disorders' could be justified if empirically founded psychological and behavioural characteristics are included into the classification process. Attention focusing, symptom catastrophizing, and symptom expectation are outlined as possible examples of involved psychological processes.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)143-146
    JournalCurrent Opinion in Psychiatry
    Volume20
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2007

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