Abstract
The necessity for understanding diseases from a psychosomatic standpoint is exemplified with reference to bronchial asthma which is often considered a representative of psychosomatic disorders. In certain cases of childhood asthma, the important factors affecting the illness are found in sibling rivalry for parental love. ln these cases, relying on psychosomatic therapy to focus the child's awareness on the love that the child received from his parents is highly effective in resolving the crises. Other cases of adult asthma become intractable in spite of pharmacological and allergologicaI therapy necessitating the use of steroids, despite the adverse side effects associated with them. In such cases of bronchial asthma, psychosomatic therapy can alleviate symptom and withdraw from steroids, because the illness has psychosomatic mechanism. However, in order to practice psychosomatic therapy, the physician must understand the illness from a psychosomatic perspective. The failure to do so results in the failure to provide appropriate treatment, causing a worsening of symptoms due to the progress of the illness, or due to steroid related side effects; which can be considered iatrogenic. It is proposed that medical disorders resulting from the failure to provide appropriate therapy be classified as a "disorder due to negative iatrogenic factor" or "iatrogenic disorder by omission."
