ABSTRACT
The Institute of Psychosexual Medicine (IPM) was founded in 1974 by the psychoanalyst Tom Main, and he became Life President until his death in 1990. These are mainly patients that they come across during the course of their day-to-day clinical work, while those with further training may treat patients in specialised psychosexual or sexual problem clinics. The IPM is still primarily a teaching organisation where doctors, and increasingly other allied health professionals, can learn by case presentation to a seminar group with a trained leader. The power of the IPM training is that one health professional can learn to manage both the mind and the body and thus help the patient to see the link between them. The doctor or allied health professional who is treating and examining the body is also exploring the mind. Neuroimmunologists are increasingly studying the effects of stress on health at the hormonal and molecular levels.
