2019 Volume 59 Issue 5 Pages 437-442
The author specializes in family medicine and psychosomatic medicine. This article will review the following three points from the viewpoint of a family physician.
1. Similarities and differences between psychosomatic medicine and family medicine : Both of them aim for total human medical care, and emphasize not only “disease”, but also “illness”. The great strength of psychosomatic doctor is “to be able to use many psychotherapies”. On the other hand, the strength of family doctor is “the ability to examine patients comprehensively including family and life background”.
2. Psychosomatic medicine skills are useful in family medicine/general practice : Behavior change, correspondence of difficult patients, palliative care, multi-occupational cooperation, etc.
3. Framework/skill of family medicine which seems to be useful also in psychosomatic medicine : Patient-centered medical methods, family oriented approach, utilization of social capital, etc.
There are many similarities between psychosomatic medicine and family medicine, and the author realizes that better medical treatment can be provided by collaborating on both sides’ viewpoints and skills.
