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Psychosomatic Medicine in Modern Greece

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Abstract

The teachings of Ancient Greek philosophers and physicians pertaining to the basic psychosomatic principles of psychogenesis and holism are prevalent in the perception of health and illness in Modern Greece. The Psychosomatic approach is considered as an ideology that infiltrates all aspects of not only disease but also health (Christodoulou. Psychosomatic medicine: past and future plenum. Plenum Press, New York/London, 1987).

The establishment of psychiatric departments in general hospitals has been a major step for the implementation and dissemination of this ideology.

A total of 95 public hospitals in Greece have established psychiatric and children’s psychiatric departments, operating on widely varying levels of development, efficiency and effectiveness.

In this chapter, patient care, training, research and publications on psychosomatics and consultation-liaison psychiatry are considered. The achievements and drawbacks in the practice of Psychosomatic Medicine are also discussed.

It is concluded that the future of Psychosomatic Medicine in Greece depends on the recognition and acceptance of its principles and utility by professionals, decision-makers and the public.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Sotiria General Hospital, Athens, Greece

    George Moussas & Athanasios Karkanias

  2. Society of Preventive Psychiatry, Athens, Greece

    George Moussas, Athanasios Karkanias & George N. Christodoulou

  3. University of Athens, Athens, Greece

    George N. Christodoulou

Authors
  1. George Moussas
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  2. Athanasios Karkanias
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  3. George N. Christodoulou
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry University of California San Francisco, CA, USA, Psychiatric Consultation-Liaison Service and Psychosomatic Medicine Program, UCSF Fresno, USA

    Hoyle Leigh

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Moussas, G., Karkanias, A., Christodoulou, G.N. (2019). Psychosomatic Medicine in Modern Greece. In: Leigh, H. (eds) Global Psychosomatic Medicine and Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-12584-4_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-12584-4_14

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