Somatization and Medically Unexplained Symptoms in Psychological Injury: Diagnoses and Dynamics

This paper examines the somatization process that may complicate diagnosis in cases of psychological injury. Usually, somatoform and related disorders are fraught with diagnostic uncertainty, and a survey of the scientific literature reveals that recommendations are being made to revise them for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) V. The paper concentrates on the dynamics in somatization. The article presents an integrated forensic biopsychosocial model of somatization. It incorporates a biopsychosocial model of somatization that includes 100 factors. It addresses the process of somatization in terms of three dimensions having forensic relevance. The article concludes with recommendations for the DSM V in terms of a new class of diagnostic categories pertaining to somatization and a new axis on causality.