[Psychosomatics in ophthalmology]

A patient who presents to undertake an examination and treatment in the eye clinic or the ophthalmologist's practice, comes not only as a "sick eye", but as a human being with a genetic predisposition, socialization, life experiences and individual behaviors. These influence not only the disease of the eye but also the communication with the patient, the patient-doctor relationship and the implementation and success of the treatment. In our ophthalmological practices, a psychosomatic approach means accepting the patient in his/her entirety and building a trusting patient-doctor relationship through adequate communication. With a resource-oriented approach the patient can be supported in coping with the illness and can be guided towards self-responsibility and self-efficacy. The skills for psychosomatically oriented work can be acquired through the training in basic psychosomatic care.