eMedicine Specialties > Pediatrics: Developmental and Behavioral > Medical Topics

Somatoform Disorder: Pain: Treatment & Medication

Author: Dolores Protagoras-Lianos, MD, Director of Outpatient Department, Department of Pediatrics, Aghia Sophia Children's Hospital, Athens, Greece
Contributor Information and Disclosures

Updated: Sep 10, 2008

Treatment

Medical Care

  • Medical care for physical illness must be appropriate for the diagnosed medical problems and requires judicious use of analgesics.
  • Effective mental health treatment for children is family-centered. Goals for therapy include the following:
    • Gaining understanding of pain as a product of the interaction of physical and psychological factors
    • Improved family functioning
    • Increased assertiveness in victims of bullying
    • Learning strategies that produce some control over symptoms or reaction to pain, although symptoms may not be eradicated totally
    • Dealing successfully with anxiety generated by pain
    • Decreasing disability caused by pain
    • Limiting medical testing that is not helpful or necessary
  • Types of treatment include the following:
    • Counseling
    • Relaxation training (eg, progressive muscle relaxation, induced self-hypnosis)
    • Behavioral methods (eg, behavioral-cognitive therapy)
    • Biofeedback
    • Family therapy (eg, focus on communication and appropriate responses)
  • Treat comorbid conditions (ie, anxiety, depression).

Consultations

  • Subspecialist consultations based on suspicion of specific medical disorders include the following:
    • Neurologist (chronic headache pain)
    • Gastroenterologist (chronic abdominal pain)
  • Mental health specialist

Activity

Encourage early gradual return to normal activity.

Medication

Medical care for physical illness must be appropriate for diagnosed medical problems and requires judicious use of analgesics.

More on Somatoform Disorder: Pain

Overview: Somatoform Disorder: Pain
Differential Diagnoses & Workup: Somatoform Disorder: Pain
Treatment & Medication: Somatoform Disorder: Pain
Follow-up: Somatoform Disorder: Pain
References
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References

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Further Reading

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Keywords

somatoform disorder, pain disorder, recurrent abdominal pain, headache, limb pain, chest pain, anxiety, depression, psychosomatic pain, suicide, gut dysmotility

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Contributor Information and Disclosures

Author

Dolores Protagoras-Lianos, MD, Director of Outpatient Department, Department of Pediatrics, Aghia Sophia Children's Hospital, Athens, Greece
Dolores Protagoras-Lianos, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Pediatrics
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Medical Editor

Chet Johnson, MD, Medical Director, Child Development Unit, Department of Pediatrics, Professor, University of Kansas Medical Center
Chet Johnson, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Pediatrics
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Pharmacy Editor

Mary L Windle, PharmD, Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Pharmacy, Pharmacy Editor, eMedicine
Disclosure: Pfizer Inc Stock Investment from broker recommendation; Avanir Pharma Stock Investment from broker recommendation

CME Editor

Carrie Sylvester, MD, MPH, Director of Education in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Professor, Departments of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, Northwestern University Medical School
Carrie Sylvester, MD, MPH is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Medical Women's Association, American Psychiatric Association, and American Society for Adolescent Psychiatry
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Chief Editor

Caroly Pataki, MD, Professor of Clinical Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Division Chair of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Director of Training, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Residency Program, University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine
Caroly Pataki, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York Academy of Sciences, and Physicians for Social Responsibility
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

 
 
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