Psychosomatic Illness: A Case Study of the Superego Functioning of Six Adults of Negro, Puerto Rican and Jewish Background in Kings County Hospital Psychosomatic Clinic, 1957-1961

One of the outstanding features of current writings in social science and medicine is the increased emphasis on viewing man as a whole. The individual is no longer viewed as a mind within a body, but mind and body are seen as a unified gestalt, directed toward achieving homeostasis. This concept is now being broadened to include the interaction of the body-mind with the social and cultural milieu. Anthropology, Sociology and Psychiatry are realizing that integrated knowledge from all three fields provides an understanding of man, richer and more comprehensive than that provided by any one discipline alone. The developing fields of cultural and community psychiatry and the casework emphasis on family diagnosis and treatment are evidences of this trend. Although a considerable amount has been written about man as a bio-psycho-social being on a theoretical level, much still needs to be written about the application of the theory to a particular individual in a given culture. The theory is of little value if it cannot be used to enhance the diagnosis and treatment of individuals needing help. Therefore, this study is an attempt to analyze the biological, psychological and cultural factors in the psychosomatic illnesses found in individual cases