Environmental psychosomatics--an integrative model

Patients presenting with new clinical syndromes such as multiple chemical sensitivities (MCS) or other environmental illnesses confront us with the necessity to have valid models of how psychological, environmental, social and biological factors interact with each other. Whilst MCS is influenced by psychiatric and psychological factors, the scientific evidence does not allow to regard MCS as a psychiatric disorder only. Objective environmental factors have to be taken into account as well. As causation of MCS seems to be very complex, a complex model is needed to integrate the various pathogenetical factors. After reviewing the psychiatric research findings on MCS, such a model is introduced in the paper; it is called the dialectical model of environmental psychosomatics. This model has implications for further research and clinical practice; it advocates a process of simultaneous diagnostic processes covering biological environmental analysis as well as psychiatric diagnostics.