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March 19, 1999
Patients who present with unexplained physical symptoms are a common and frustrating occurrence in medical settings. Unfortunately, these patients' problems tend to be neglected both in psychiatry and primary care, possibly because they are situated in the mind/body interface. Active clinical and research collaborations in this area between psychiatry and primary care are extremely important.
At APA's annual meeting in Washington, D.C., in May, there will be a two-day session titled "Treating Patients With Medically Unexplained Symptoms." This session, chaired by Arthur Barsky, M.D., brings together psychiatry residents and some of the leading experts representing both psychiatry and primary care. This session will be held Monday and Tuesday, May 17 and May 18, 9 a.m. to noon.
On the first day of the session, Ralph Saintfort, M.D., a fourth-year resident at Harvard University, will present a case of hypochondriasis. This will be followed by a presentation by Julie Lieb, M.D., a third-year resident at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, who will present a case of somatization disorder. Carla Cantor, the author of Phantom Illness, will then present the patient's perspective, followed by Frank de Gruy, M.D., a family physician who will speak on the primary care perspective. The final presentation of the day will be by Arthur Barsky, M.D., who will speak on the differential diagnosis of the somatoform disorders.
On the following day, James Stinett, M.D., will speak on the role of the consultation psychiatrist.
The final two presentations will focus on specific treatments for these disorders. Javier I. Escobar, M.D., will discuss cognitive behavioral therapy, and Brian Fallon, M.D., will discuss pharmacotherapy.
In addition to this session, there will be three clinical case conferences including one resident as presenter and an expert as discussant. The first, which will be held Monday, May 17, is titled "Chronic Pain Syndromes Refractory to Conventional Treatments." The chair is Barbara Palmer, M.D., and the presenter is Oliver Freudenreich, M.D., a fourth-year resident at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. Thomas N. Wise, M.D., is the discussant.
On Tuesday, May 18, the clinical case presentation is "Manic-Depressive Illness: Over-, Under-, or Misdiagnosis" by Roslyn Seligman, M.D., with Hagop S. Akiskal, M.D., as discussant.
The final presentation, "Refractory Depression and ECT," will be held Wednesday, May 19. The chair is Mark D. Beale, M.D., and the presenter is Teresa Rummons, M.D. Harold A. Sackeim, Ph.D., and Richard D. Weiner, M.D., are the discussants.