Somatoform Disorders in Children and Adolescents

The diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders have benefited from advancements in epidemiology, genetics, pharmacology, neuroimaging and other disciplines. However, "medically unexplained" physical symptoms and somatoform disorders have defied conceptual understanding, and straightforward algorithms for clinical diagnosis and management of affected patients are lacking. The clinician must consider unique combinations of symptoms, biopsychosocial underpinnings, contexts of illness exacerbations and remissions, and the meanings of associated functional impairments to patients, families, and society. This is especially true for the young, given the additional physiological, psychological, family, educational, and environmental elements involved in pediatric somatoform disorders.