COMMENTS ON SEVERAL PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PSY CHOPHYSIOLOGICAL ASPECTS OFSCLERODERMA

This article presents the total update psychological, psychopathologic al and psychophysiological knowledge on progressive systemic scleroder mia. It is pointed out, first of all, that our knowledge is indeed poo r, hardly empirically verified and usually based on an assessment of i ndividual cases. The disorder is described by means of a distinction b etween special physiological, perceptive-cognitive, emotional and beha vioural aspects of experience and behaviour. Particular attention is g iven to the present knowledge on somatosensorial and pain perception. Integration of medico-biological and psychosocial knowledge could yiel d an optimal etiopathogenetic model of sclerodermia. In view of the us ually infaust prognosis the author recommends treatment methods having a minimum of side effects. Behavioural therapy commands over a large catalogue of such methods, in particular for the treatment of pain, fo r treating the symptoms of Raynaud's syndrome, and for stabilising the patients' psychosocial network.