Reliable change in outcomes from The BodyMind Approach™ with people who have medically unexplained symptoms/somatic symptom disorder in primary healthcare *

This chapter reports on outcomes of an initiative based on research undertaken by the author between 2004 and 2009, and further practice-based evidence, which supports people with medically unexplained symptoms (MUS), sometimes referred to as functional somatic syndrome or somatic symptom disorder (SSD), as the American Psychiatric Association update of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM-5) terms it in primary care in a large home county in the National Health Service in England. Medically unexplained symptoms can be defined as physical symptoms that are not explained by a known medical condition or disease. A clinician rating tool used to measure overall level of psychological, social and occupational client functioning on a scale ranging from 1 to 100. As said by a local doctor, this service should be the first port of call for patients with MUS and accompanying depression and/or anxiety.