Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

The somatizing patient in general practice

P F Verhaak1, M A Tijhuis

  • 1Netherlands Institute of Primary Health Care.

International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine
|January 1, 1994
PubMed
Summary

Patients with physical complaints rooted in psychosocial issues (somatizing) showed more independence from their general practitioner (GP) than those with explicit mental health complaints (psychologizing). Both groups frequently visited their GP for physical issues over twelve months.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

[Developments in mental health care in Dutch general practices: an overview of recent studies].

Tijdschrift voor psychiatrie·2019
Same author

Development and external validation of a prediction rule for an unfavorable course of late-life depression: A multicenter cohort study.

Journal of affective disorders·2018
Same author

Educating patient educators: enhancing instructional effectiveness in physical therapy for low back pain patients.

Patient education and counseling·2003
Same author

The relationship between quality of life and perceived body weight and dieting history in Dutch men and women.

International journal of obesity and related metabolic disorders : journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity·2001
Same author

Communication: the royal pathway to patient-centered medicine.

Patient education and counseling·2000
Same author

Doctor-patient communication in different European health care systems: relevance and performance from the patients' perspective.

Patient education and counseling·2000

Area of Science:

  • General Practice
  • Psychosomatic Medicine
  • Patient Psychology

Background:

  • General practitioners (GPs) encounter patients with physical complaints that have underlying psychosocial factors.
  • Understanding the distinct characteristics of patients presenting with somatic versus explicit mental health complaints is crucial for effective primary care.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare patients with predominantly psychosocially-based physical complaints (somatizing) against those with explicitly stated mental or social complaints (psychologizing).
  • To investigate differences in psychological problem severity, GP visit frequency, and complaint types between these two patient groups.

Main Methods:

  • An exploratory twelve-month study followed two comparable groups of patients selected from GP consultations.
  • One group presented with physical complaints deemed psychosocially-based without explicit mental health articulation.
  • The second group voiced explicit mental or social complaints.

Main Results:

  • Somatizing patients exhibited greater independence from their GP compared to psychologizing patients.
  • Contrary to some theories, somatizing patients did not appear to be more dependent.
  • Underlying psychological issues seemed less significant for somatizing patients than for psychologizing patients.

Conclusions:

  • Both somatizing and psychologizing patients maintained frequent GP visits throughout the study period.
  • These visits were primarily for physical complaints, even when assessed as such by the GP.

Related Experiment Videos