Conflicting definitions of the term ‘psychosomatic’

The Psychosomatic Perspective on Health and Illness: Where Do We Stand?

“…Indeed, both the theories of Selye and Alexander have served to modify the original meaning of the term.Such distortions are evident among healthcare professionals. From 1965 to 1980, Henker (1982 and associates asked 100 medical students, 50 general physicians, and 57 psychiatrists to indicate their understanding of the term psychosomatic. Their responses were classified into one of four categories: (a) an imagined physical disorder, (b) a disturbance of the function of an organ mediated by emotional tension, (c) a physical structure disturbance mediated by emotional tension, and ( d ) an approach that takes into consideration psychic factors in physical conditions and physical factors in psychic conditions.…”

“…Sixty registered nurses, working in a variety of settings, also responded to questionnaires asking them to define the term (Bartol t3 Eakes, 1988). Their responses were grouped according to the categories described by Henker (1982). Only 8% of the nurses defined psychosomatic in holistic terms.…”