Climbing the mountain: Fear of treatment progress and its relevance to the treatment of children and adolescents with somatic symptom disorders. Issue 7 (July 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Willis, Matthew D.
• Is Part Of: Brown University child and adolescent behavior letter. Volume 33:Issue 7(2017)
• Page Start: 1
• Page End: 6
• Publication Date: 2017-07
• Subjects: Behavior disorders in children -- Periodicals; Behavior disorders in adolescence -- Periodicals; Child psychiatry -- Periodicals; Adolescent psychiatry -- Periodicals; Developmental disabilities -- Periodicals; 618.928905
• DOI: 10.1002/cbl.30222
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1058-1073

Abstract

Abstract : Somatic symptom disorders represent perhaps the single most challenging illness group in the treatment of children and adolescents. These illnesses, which can include all organ systems from the central nervous system (nonepileptic seizures) to the gastrointestinal tract (functional abdominal pain), all share the presence of physical symptoms that are assessed to be emotionally based, or at minimum to be associated with significant emotional contributing factors. From the process of patients and families coming to terms with the nuanced message from providers that physical symptoms are both real and emotionally based to the multidisciplinary and highly collaborative treatment necessary to ensure that these patients make the physical and emotional progress necessary to "get their lives back, " the treatment of children and adolescents with emotionally based physical symptoms is undoubtedly highly complex.