Psychological medicine is a clinical discipline that helps doctors and patients improve the ways to deal with the disease and the treatment process. This is important in all medical disciplines because no clinical practice can ignore the psychological and emotional reactions of patients and doctors. Psychological medicine emphasizes the position of the patient as an integral human being, in a specific social environment, through different life phases and in all life circumstances.
The main goal of the course is to develop the sensitivity and understanding of the psychological aspects of physical illness and the ability to observe and recognize emotional interactions between patients and doctors.
Course objectives are:
- Understanding the relationship between patient – physician - disease
- Identifying the psychological components of the disease
- Explaining and defining transference and countertransference
- Assessment of the factors that shape attitudes towards the disease and the patient
- Explaining the significance of empathy
- Explaining the psychological reactions to the disease
- Explaining the psychological factors that contribute to the onset of the disease
- Explaining the psychological factors as the disease modulators
Upon completion of the course the student will:
- Adopt communication skills and conduct an interview with a patient
- Assess and describe the psychological condition, symptoms of anxiety, stress, crisis, and mourning reactions
- Identify transference and countertransference reactions
- Develop empathy for patients, family members of patients, colleagues, and other professional associates
Expected outcomes and competencies are:
- Communicating with patients and colleagues and conducting medical interviews
- Identifying difficulties in relation to patients
- Identifying transference and countertransference phenomena
- To recognize anxiety in a patient
- To recognize the type of patient psychological response to the disease
- To identify and describe the patient's cope mechanisms