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edited by Carl Walker and Linda Papadopoulos, 158 pp, paper, $55, ISBN 0-521-54229-4, New York, NY, Cambridge University Press, 2005.

JAMA. 2007;297:97-98.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Medical students and residents are often surprised by the perceived disproportionate time that a dermatologist spends addressing the psychological needs of the dermatologic patient. To explain the inextricably entwined skin and psyche, dermatology mentors may respond with one word: ectoderm. A common germ layer gives rise to skin and the all-controlling brain. This embryologic reality summarily speaks for the oneness of psyche and skin.

Psychodermatology, edited by Carl Walker, PhD, and Linda Papadopoulos, PhD, shows the reader how the skin, our "cosmetic" organ, when diseased or simply perceived as imperfect, can trigger profound psychological distress. Unfortunately, "trivialisation and minimisation" of the distress associated with skin disease is a common reality. The struggles that some individuals with skin disease endure are often overlooked, ignored, or downplayed but deserve attention. The target readership of this book is all health care professionals who treat skin disease. Increased awareness and supportive communication in the . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Loretta S. Davis, MD, Reviewer
Medical College of Georgia
Augusta
lodavis@mail.mcg.edu