Main description:

There is a high prevalence of adults and children presenting at health care services with bodily complaints that do not have an observable physiological cause, for example, pain, dizziness, fatigue, and bowel dysfunctions. A multitude of etiologic and pathogenic mechanisms and contributing factors play a role in medically unexplained symptoms (MUS) and bodily distress, representing a constant challenge to refine models of bodily distress to inform primary and secondary prevention, stepped care intervention, and specialized treatment.
This collection of contributions from around the world focuses on research that investigates four key areas: 1) detection and diagnosis, 2) etiologically relevant mechanisms, 3) clinical management and effective treatment, 4) implementation of treatment. Written from various research perspectives in psychology and medicine, this volume shows the necessity of interdisciplinary research to advance our understanding of MUS and bodily distress as a heterogeneous condition.

Contents:

Editorial
Medically Unexplained Symptoms and Bodily Distress:
Four Challenges to Improve Understanding and Evidence-Based Care
Alexandra Martin and Omer Van den Bergh
Review Articles
Psychological Interventions for Health Anxiety and Somatic Symptoms:
A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Ulrike Maass, Franziska Kuhne, Jana Maas, Maria Unverdross, and Florian Weck
Functional Somatic Syndromes (FSS) in Children and Adolescents:
Conceptual, Measurement and Treatment Issues
Maria Kangas, Karen Hansen Kallesoe, and Charlotte Ulrikka Rask
Original Articles
Do Women With Severe Persistent Fatigue Present With Fatigue
at the Primary Care Consultation?
Tim C. olde Hartman, Tomas P. Scheepers, Peter Lucassen,and Kees van Boven
Somatic Symptom Perception and Interoception: A Latent-Variable Approach
Michael Witthoeft, Anne-Kathrin Brascher, Stefanie M. Jungmann, and Ferenc Koeteles
Cyberchondriasis: The Effect of Searching the Internet on Health Concerns
Melanie Pollklas, Lavinia Widemann, Mirjam Lochschmidt, Anna Plakhuta, and Alexander L. Gerlach
Stepped, Collaborative, Coordinated Care for Somatic Symptom and Related Disorders (Sofu-Net):
A Mixed-Methods Evaluation Among Health Care Professionals
Meike C. Shedden-Mora, Amina Kuby, Justus Toennies, Katharina Piontek,
and Bernd Loewe
Efficacy of a Psychological Single-Session Intervention in Non-Cardiac
Chest Pain: Are Chest Pain Perceptions Relevant?
Stefanie Schroeder, Stephan Achenbach, and Alexandra Martin
Research Spotlight
Health Anxiety: Conceptualization and Future Directions
Charlotte U. Rask, Tine B. Gehrt, Martin K. Rimvall, and Lisbeth Frostholm