Psychosomatic medicine

[cbrons]

Could someone tell me what a specialist in psychosomatic medicine does? On what patients does he/she consult on?

I assume fibromyalgia, IBD, other somatization disorders etc. racking up thousands in medical tests before they get a referral.

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[nitemagi]

It's a term for consult/liaison psychiatry. Some good fellowships will give extra training in sub-specialties like psychoderm, or psycho-oncology. Don't mistake psychosomatic medicine for "mind-body medicine."

 

[kevinc2]

c/l folks at my med school deal with a lot of delirium, HIV, some substance abuse, recommending tapering off/starting new psych meds due to other medical comorbidities, conversion/somatic symptom disorders, and competency assessments.

 

[Nymphicus]

At my institution there's a separate psychiatric facility so any psych consult in the main medical center is seen by the C/L service.

 

[thepoopologist]

c/l folks at my med school deal with a lot of delirium, HIV, some substance abuse, recommending tapering off/starting new psych meds due to other medical comorbidities, conversion/somatic symptom disorders, and competency assessments.

This is primarily what I dealt with at my community hospital. I'll add dementia, anorexia, catatonia, stroke/mood, MS/mood, encephalopathies etc. It was great. The thinking cap was always on. I liked interfacing with the other docs. I think the combo of acute inpatient, state hospital, and C/L exposes you to the bulk of the truly crazy stuff.

 

[thepoopologist]

Could someone tell me what a specialist in psychosomatic medicine does? On what patients does he/she consult on?

I assume fibromyalgia, IBD, other somatization disorders etc. racking up thousands in medical tests before they get a referral.

It depends on the consultant. Some shotgun it and order a whole bunch of stuff. Others order stuff to confirm what they already think is happening. Everyones art is different

 

[peppy]

I assume fibromyalgia, IBD, other somatization disorders etc. racking up thousands in medical tests before they get a referral.

CL psychiatrists definitely see a fair amount of the conversion disorder patients (and every so often I have been involved when we ended up confirming that someone has Munchausen syndrome). I don't feel like I have seen any more IBD and fibromyalgia on CL psychiatry than I do in my general psychiatry work.

 

[Shikima]

To keep things in an anecdote-type perception; I've seen conversion disorder, IBD and Fibromyalgia come through my doors.

 

[Monkey House]

http://www.apm.org/

 

[675015]

Any thoughts on CL fellowships for someone who would like to do CL work in a non academic setting?

 

[NickNaylor]

Any thoughts on CL fellowships for someone who would like to do CL work in a non academic setting?

I have an interest in C/L, and based on taking to several mentors, nearly all of them have advised that a fellowship is not needed to do C/L work in the community setting. It's more critical for those interested in working in academia and holding an academic position.

 

[WingedOx]

Could someone tell me what a specialist in psychosomatic medicine does? On what patients does he/she consult on?

I assume fibromyalgia, IBD, other somatization disorders etc. racking up thousands in medical tests before they get a referral.

this post alone is a good reason why the term "psychosomatic medicine' was a stupid choice for the subspecialty. It doesn't translate at all to common vernacular.