Some problematic and discussion issues of psychosomatic relationships and somatoform disorders from the standpoint of clinical psychiatry
A brief historical digression into the doctrine of psychosomatics and the establishment of the term «psychosomatic medicine» are represented in the article. Some views on the formation and systematization of psychosomatic disorders are examined. The scientific grounds for isolating somatoform disorders into a separate group and their inclusion in the modern classifications of mental diseases (DSM and ICD-10) are analyzed. It is stated that the clinical picture of somatoform disorders does not contain specific psychopathological symptoms and syndromes but mostly consists of disparate symptom complexes, and this fact puts a question of the place of this pathology in psychiatric nosology. It is suggested that further research by experts from different fields of science should lead to the science-based principles for delineating the clinical boundaries of somatoform disorders at an interdisciplinary level that will allow developing valid therapeutic and rehabilitation programs for this group of patients