ABSTRACT
A number of case studies on children with somatisation reveal that such children are high achievers. They tend to set themselves high standards and strive to please adults such as teachers and parents. It was hypothesised that Charlotte had a need to continue the sick role in order to obtain relief from pressures to succeed and anxieties about facing minor lapses in performance at school. At the time of assessment it was not clear whether this was the case. A mental note was made to explore this in individual sessions with Charlotte. Medically unexplained somatic symptoms are common in children and adolescents. These usually consist of minor aches and pains which are perceived by parents to be related to worries about friendships, school or family issues. Occasionally, the somatic symptoms may persist and become bothersome and disabling. Somatisation is the tendency to experience, conceptualise and communicate mental states and distress as physical symptoms or altered bodily function.
