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Geriatric Depression
Heart Disease
Depression vs.
Parenting
Testing
Stroke
Skin
Body
Medical
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Articles on the Interface of Psychology and Medicine
The articles below are grouped by general topic along with a description of each
article. Click on the highlighted article to see it in full.
CHILDREN
In a middle class sample, over half of the parents reported needing help with
child-rearing problems, and almost one fourth of the parents reported that their
children had 12 or more problems, placing them above the recommended
clinical referral score for the Child Behavior Inventory.
More on this in the Help! Parenting in Progress
article.
DEPRESSION
Approximately half of elderly patients seen for medical care of physical
ailments have significant depressive symptoms. "Geriatric Depression" is an
article by AARP entitled, Late Life Depression
and Suicide Potential. It covers general issues of assessment and
treatment with the elderly.
Individuals with depression experience limitations in well-being and daily
functioning equal to or greater than those seen in individuals suffering from a
chronic general medical condition.
"Do these limitations persist over time?" is the question addressed by the
article, Depression Versus Chronic Disease:
Functioning Over the Long Haul.
Depression often co-occurs with heart disease. When it is unrecognized, it can
lea to serious and unnecessary' consequences for patients and families. Some
facts and figures regarding this are documented in the APA article,
The Co-Occurance
of Depression and Heart Disease.
The Co-Occurance of Depression with Stroke,
highlights the prevalence of clinical depression with stroke patients, it's
effect on recovery, and co-morbid risk factors for stroke-related depression.
Two-thirds of people who have depression (with or without medical illness) do
not get treatment. As depression occurs more frequently with medical illness and
complicates it's treatment, it is important to be able to diagnose the second
illness if it is co-occuring. Depression Co-Occurring with
General Medical Disorders, discusses how to make the diagnosis and the types
and benefits of treatment.
Somatization
When the Body Speaks, Who Listens?, by Berney Goodman,
M.D., is a selection from his book illustrating the often overlooked
ability of the mind to create physical symptoms, related to stress. These
symptoms can sometimes "express" the psychological concerns if someone is
listening.
Some 30 to 75 percent of patients who show up in dermatologists' offices have an
emotional component to their disease, contends Carolyn S. Koblenzer, M.D.,
author of this article on, Skin as Advertisement for Psyche.
TESTING
Psychological testing is wrongly thought of as less empirical or predictive than
medical tests. In this APA report, psych
testing efficacy is compared to several standard medical tests.
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