Somatoform Disorders A Medicolegal Guide

This book is an in-depth, clinically oriented review of the somatoform disorders and related clinical manifestations (such as chronic fatigue syndrome) and how they appear in a medico-legal setting. People with somatoform disorders present a range of symptoms that typically last for years and can't be traced to a specific physical cause. Such symptoms may range from frequent headaches to gastrointestinal problems. The volume is aimed at clinicians and lawyers who deal with injury claims where these disorders impact much more frequently than generally recognized.

People with somatoform disorder (which used to be known as hysteria) present with a range of symptoms that typically last for years and can't be traced to a specific physical cause. Such symptoms may include frequent headaches; back pain; abdominal cramping and pelvic pain; pain in the joints, legs and arms; chest or abdominal pain, and gastrointestinal problems. This book is an in-depth, clinically orientated review of the somatoform disorders and related clinical presentations (such as chronic fatigue syndrome) and how they present in a medico-legal setting. It is aimed at both clinicians and lawyers who deal with injury claims where these disorders impact much more frequently than is generally recognised.

Preface; Acknowledgements; 1. Historical overview; 2. Classification and the somatoform disorders; 3. Clinical presentations; 4. Malingering; 5. Memory in a medicolegal context; 6. Assessment, treatment and prognosis; 7. Somatoform disorders in a medicolegal context; 8. Mechanisms; 9. Causation and the question of consciousness; Appendix: Civil procedure rules Part 35; Index.

This 2004 volume is an in-depth, clinically orientated review of somatoform disorders and related clinical presentations and how they present in a medico-legal setting. It is aimed at both clinicians and lawyers dealing with injury claims where these disorders impact much more frequently than is generally recognised.