Psychological Treatment in Disease and Illness edited by Matthew Hodes and Stirling Moorey. Published by  Gaskell, London, 1993;  230 pages; £15.00 (paperback).

The competent book, which arises out of a conference in 1990, would be of interest to psychologists, psychiatrists, psychotherapists, general practitioners, nurses and doctors. Many of the treatments described are not widely available as they arise out of research settings. One of the main themes which emerges is the importance of early detection of people with physical illness at high risk of developing psychological problems. The editors suggest that hospital doctors, general practitioners and nurses can be trained to pick out those patients who need to be referred to psychiatrists or psychotherapists.

Christopher Dare's chapter serves as good introduction to the whole area of considering different theoretical approaches. He explains psychotherapeutic theories of psychosomatic disorders with a specific focus on eating disorders. He lucidly traces the development of psychological disorder presenting as somatic disorder - in other words, conversion hysteria and the subsequent search for the meaning of a physical symptom without necessarily bringing about any cure. Dare explains how the development of object relations theory and the use of the transference has informed, influenced and enriched this approach. He adds a behavioural and cognitive-behavioural