The Importance of Psychology in Medicine

by Louise Shannon

With more than 676 million people worldwide affected by some form of mental disorder, psychological issues have become the largest source of burden of disease in the UK. Time and time again they prove to be the most common and life-affecting when compared with other health condition.

Today there is an ever increasing awareness of mental health issues and disorders, although, despite this, psychology is a study which can often be overlooked by medical professionals in favour of a more ‘physical’ explanation into health problems. However, this is perhaps a fatal error. It is becoming well-known that there is a crucial link between mental health and physical health. Often enough, underlying psychological disorders can present themselves as a set of physical symptoms such as pain, fatigue, and nausea which may result in an incorrect diagnosis and subsequently improper treatment which may only worsen the condition of the patient.

There is countless research that is conducted into the connection between mind and body. Psychiatrists at Oxford University have found that suffering from a severe mental illness can reduce life expectancy by 10 to 20 years. This is thought to be equivalent to, or even worse than, heavy smoking. Furthermore, a study conducted by King’s College London found that there is a positive correlation between mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder and cardiovascular disease.

These studies suggest that physical illnesses may well be triggered by poor mental health, and this is convincing evidence that psychology as it stands may be a more vital aspect of medical studies than many acknowledge. Hence, skills in the study of the mind are becoming more and more valuable to medical schools and aspirant medics.

It is not just the potential causes of disease and injury that psychology may explain, however. Evidence suggests it may be behind the success of treatments for people with physical ailments as well. Spiegel et al. (1989) found that providing women suffering from cancer psychosocial treatment alongside oncological treatment increased the average survival rate by 18 months. Additionally, patients who receive a mental assessment and the appropriate therapy and/or preventative care following traumatic illness or injury are usually found to be at a lesser risk of ongoing complications, suggesting that one’s mental state has a great impact on physical recovery.

For this reason, it is imperative that the work of psychologists and psychiatrists, as mental health experts, be taken into medical consideration and play a more active role in the medical sector.