THE RELATIONSHIP OF PSYCHOSOMATIC-MEDICINE TO CONSULTATION-LIAISON PSYCHIATRY

Consultation-liaison psychiatry arose in the mid-1960s from the matrix of psychoanalytically oriented psychosomatic medicine. The influence of psychoanalysis and psychoanalytically trained academic psychiatrist s gradually waned. The liaison aspect of consultation-liaison psychiat ry faded in the early 1980s, and most consultation-liaison services ar e now primarily high-quality consultation services that contribute muc h to university teaching hospitals. The consultation-liaison service a t the University of New Mexico (UNM) and several others have eliminate d the term ''liaison.'' The consultation service at UNM sees relativel y few patients with classic psychosomatic disorders. The majority of r equests to UNM's consultation service relate to suicide attempts, deli rium, complicated medical problems with psychiatric illness, substance abuse, burns, trauma, and competency evaluations.