Management of Distressing Bodily Symptoms in Health

Reviews / Votes

'As a GP who regularly encounters patients with Bodily Distress Syndrome or Medically Unexplained Symptoms, and as a medical educator, I'm intrigued by The BodyMind Approach (TBMA) as an innovative integration of health and educational theory. Standard and often costly medical management frequently falls short for these people with complex needs, leading to long term frustration and sometimes disengagement from practitioners and patients. Employing adult learning principles like experiential learning, self-discovery, and group-based critical reflection helps distressed people understand and manage their symptoms in a transformative way through new frames of reference. TBMA encourages and empowers people to become active participants in their recovery, fostering resilience and skills in self-management, rather than becoming passive recipients of care. For GPs seeking an evidence-informed, compassionate, and sustainable model for medically unexplained symptoms, this is a refreshing approach.

Payne and Brooks have carefully described their holistic approach in a book accessible to myriad practitioners reflecting their integrated approach and multidisciplinary ethos. TBMA is an important addition to our toolbox as we reject a stigmatising dualistic approach and embrace the social model of disability.'

Dr Rebecca Farrington, MBChB, MRCGP., DTM&H., PFHEA., PGCHE., Associate Head of Undergraduate Medicine, Edge Hill University Medical School.

'The latest addition to the subject of distressing somatic symptoms, "Managing Distressing Somatic Symptoms in Health: The Body Mind Approach using a Biopsychosocial Model" by Helen Payne and Susan Brooks. The authors are to be congratulated.

Formally known as "Medically Unexplained Symptoms" (MUS) and now introduced as "Body Distress Disorder" in ICD-11 classification and as "Somatic Symptom Disorder" in DSM-5, they account for a high proportion of consultations in both primary and secondary care services. While no organic cause can be found for these distressing symptoms, they suffer considerable long term psychological distress, disability and impaired quality of life.

This book with 10 chapters provides a comprehensive description on the subject including information on the historical background to the emergence of The BodyMind Approach (TBMA), and why the first author became interested in MUS. It draws on both the qualitative and quantitative research studies based on their own research as well as from others, and theoretical discussions too.

It is an interesting and valuable update to the existing literature for a wider audience.

I would like to make a strong endorsement for this book.'

Athula Sumathipala, MBBS, DFM, MD, FSLCGP (Sri Lanka), FRC Psych, CCST (UK), PhD (Lon); Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, Keele University, UK; Emeritus Professor of Global Mental Health, Kings College London, UK; Associate Editor, British Journal of Psychiatry; Director, Institute for Research & Development Health & Social Care, Sri Lanka.

'This book makes an important contribution to the literature through in-depth descriptions of distressing somatic symptoms and significant propositions of how to manage them. As the book unfolds, it becomes clear that The BodyMind Approach needs to be considered as an important addition to current offers in healthcare addressing the self-management of embodied and emotional aspects current provision does not offer. Strong evidence and abundance of clinical experience is married with insights from people struggling with their own symptoms, making this book a must for professionals, trainees and the general public alike.'

Professor Vicky Karkou, Director of the Research Centre for Arts and Wellbeing, Edge Hill University

'This book offers a rigorous, evidence-based exploration of how embodied practices can transform care for individuals experiencing chronic, unexplained somatic symptoms. TBMA is situated within the context of cutting-edge research on embodied cognition, showing how somatic awareness can influence symptom perception and emotional regulation. The authors present a comprehensive framework that integrates mindfulness, movement and arts-based practices, and bodily awareness, inviting practitioners and researchers to reframe their understanding through the perspective of a "Body with mind connections". The detailed discussion of interoceptive training is compelling, aligning with the growing recognition of the body's central role in contemporary neuroscience. Importantly, the volume includes work published in peer-reviewed scientific journals, further underscoring its academic rigour. Drawing on adult learning theory, attachment research, and the biopsychosocial model, the book offers concrete directions for future research, practical insights for clinicians, and a forward-looking perspective for patients. Its inspiring and scientifically grounded tone provides readers with both applicable tools and conceptual frameworks for innovation in clinical practice. Reading this important contribution to embodied healthcare was both a pleasure and an enriching experience.'

Dr. Andrea Zaccaro, Research Fellow, "G. d'Annunzio" University of Chieti-Pescara, Italy

'In their book, Management of Distressing Bodily Symptoms in Health: The BodyMind Approach using a Biopsychosocial Model, authors Helen Payne and Susan Brooks have given us a theoretically sophisticated approach for those who suffer from Medically Undiagnosed or Organically Diagnosed Symptoms, also known as Bodily Distress Disorder. The book provides a substantial piece of much needed research into this arena, a guide for those who treat individuals suffering from the dilemma, as well as a program for those individuals who must endure these chronic symptoms. The authors clearly understand how those afflicted feel out of control in relation to their symptoms, which leads to further somatizations of depression, anxiety, and obsession. The BodyMind Approach (TBMA), unique and holistic, encourages program participants to attend to their movements and accompanying sensations, emotions, and perceptions that retain long held and concealed meanings. Learning to trust their bodily knowing, participants develop a newly born curiosity in reflecting upon themselves. In doing so, enduring habitual convictions are dismantled, and pathways for creating novel narratives emerge.

I strongly recommend this book for a wide audience including researchers, holistic practitioners, those interested in transformative learning methods, those who are afflicted with debilitating symptoms, and their family members.'

Ruella Frank, Ph.D, author of "Body of Awareness: A Somatic and Developmental Approach to Psychotherapy", "The First Year and the Rest of Your Life", "The Bodily Roots of Experience in Psychotherapy".