A psychosomatic outpatient clinic.

Current emphasis in clinical psychosomatic medicine is on psychiatric interventions in acute medical and surgical situations (consultation-liaison psychiatry and medical-psychiatric units). Little interest has been taken in psychosomatic interventions in chronic situations and outpatient settings. The functioning of a psychosomatic outpatient clinic (POC) is described. One-hundred consecutive referrals were analyzed. The most frequent diagnostic finding--according to DSM III criteria--was subsumed under the rubric of "psychological factors affecting physical condition," followed by affective illness, anxiety disturbances, and somatoform disorders. The results indicate that a POC may serve a specific and definable segment of patients, whose characteristics depart from the clinical populations in consultation-liaison psychiatry and medical-psychiatric units.