RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 PRESSS: A New Patient-Centered Name for an Old Problem
JF The Journal of the American Board of Family
                Medicine
JO J Am Board Fam Med
FD American Board of Family Medicine
SP 1030
OP 1032
DO 10.3122/jabfm.2021.05.200647
VO 34
IS 5
A1 William Ventres
YR 2021
UL http://www.jabfm.org/content/34/5/1030.abstract
AB There are many words for what physicians commonly refer to as Somatoform Disorder. However, none is particularly patient-centered; to greater or lesser extent, they are all framed by medical jargon. Based on his experience as a seasoned clinician, the author suggests family physicians consider adopting the word PRESSS—an acronym for “Physical Reaction to Emotional Stress of Some Sort”—when describing and explaining to patients with Somatoform Disorder the cause of their suffering. Using examples from practice, the author notes how PRESSS combines simplicity, ambiguity, and directness in one non-stigmatizing, patient-focused word. Combined with a patient-centered manner of communication, the use of PRESSS can help create the kind of shared therapeutic presence that is so important when attending to patients who experience the bothersome, unrelenting symptoms these conditions suggest.