[Psychosomatic rehabilitation. Self-image, rehabilitative concepts, psychotherapeutic approaches, need vs. demand...

To provide optimal medical care for patients with psychosomatic disorders, rehabilitation and acute medicine should be viewed as separate but related parts of one overall health care concept. Psychosomatic rehabilitation now plays a major role in the care of chronically ill patients beyond the framework of traditional medical psychotherapy. The self image and rehabilitative concepts of this field are strongly influenced by two cornerstones of psychotherapy: psychodynamics and behavioral science. In the past the main factors used to define requirements for inpatient care were the capacity of existing facilities and the degree of their utilization; what was and still is lacking is an expert assessment of real demand. By offering programs for a broad spectrum of chronic disorders, the field of psychosomatic rehabilitation has achieved impressive therapeutic results at moderate cost; this assertion is substantiated by numerous analyses of the health care system. However, the high quality standard in the field of psychosomatic rehabilitation is currently endangered by politically motivated economic measures and the accompanying reduction of therapy time. If this counterproductive trend is not halted, the inevitable outcome will be suboptimal--in particular for chronically ill patients. In conclusion, possibilities are outlined for improved networking among professionals in psychosomatic rehabilitation.