[Basic disorders. A revision with structure-dynamic measures].

Although alexithymia is found in patients with various somatic disorders, it remains unclear whether it is really related to organic disease--as proposed by the founders of the concept.[125]. As the interplay between the experience of emotion and possible adverse effects on health is a fundamental tenet of psychosomatic medicine, alexithymia remains an interesting concept to be further explored, especially concerning (1) possible pathways linking emotion to physical illness and (2) the neurobiologic basis of emotional information processing. Compared to the intense international discussion on the subject, in Germany there are still many doubts concerning alexithymia: while some clinicians question the validity of the whole concept, psychiatric and psychosomatic researchers seem unsure about alexithymia's role in their search for a physiological basis to the link between emotion and physical disease. Our review deals with the empirical literature concerning that possible association and tries to tie in their data with modern, neuro-biologically founded insights into emotional information processing within the brain.

Affective Symptoms↗

PubMed2000

Cognitive behaviour therapy: teaching a client the ABC model--the first step towards the process of change.

Research suggests that clients need to be made aware of the relationship between thinking and emotional and behavioural reactions at the start of the therapeutic work. This paper looks at the clinical processes of educating the client about this relationship in a seven-step ABC model. Rationales for each of the seven steps are given. The model illustrates the process of generating alternative beliefs in relation to a negative event and shows consequences of holding helpful and unhelpful beliefs.

Affective Symptoms↗