“Medically Unexplained Symptoms and Bodily Distress”
A Topical Issue of the Zeitschrift für Psychologie
Various bodily complaints such as pain, palpitations, fatigue, dizziness, bowel dysfunctions, and others are often considered “medically unexplained symptoms” (MUS), if they are poorly or not related to any observable physiological dysfunction. This type of bodily symptoms is very prevalent and of high relevance for the health care systems. Current types of diagnoses used for this clinical problem are, among others, “somatic symptom disorder” (DSM-5), “somatoform disorders” (ICD-10), “bodily distress disorder” (ICD-11 draft), while discussion about the concepts and models is ongoing. Current challenges range from a better understanding of the underlying psychological and pathophysiological mechanisms to a better diagnosis and effective treatment approaches including psychological interventions and psychotherapy.
We welcome work about MUS and bodily distress from the various perspectives in psychology and medicine. The articles can focus on diagnostic assessment, classification, epidemiology, theories, or treatment, including specifics of all age groups. Especially welcome is work that advances our current knowledge by addressing new perspectives on models and mechanisms, or deals with innovative interventions and health care issues.
Submissions can consist of an original research article, a review article (meta-analyses highly welcome), a short research note (“Research Spotlight”), an opinion article or Horizons (comments on promising research directions or practical applications)
How to submit: Interested authors should submit a letter of intent including: (1) a working title for the manuscript, (2) names, affiliations, and contact information for all authors, and (3) an abstract of no more than 500 words detailing the content of the proposed manuscript to the guest editors Alexandra Martin (martin@uni-wuppertal.
There is a two-stage submissions process. Initially, interested authors are requested to submit only abstracts of their proposed papers. Authors of the selected abstracts will then be invited to submit full papers. All papers will undergo blind peer review.
Deadline for submission of abstracts is April 15, 2019.
Deadline for submission of full papers is August 15, 2019.
The journal seeks to maintain a short turnaround time, with the final version of the accepted papers being due by November 15, 2019. The topical issue is scheduled as issue 2 (2020).
For additional information, please contact the guest editors.
For detailed author guidelines, please see the journal’s website at www.hogrefe.com/j/zfp/
About the Journal
The Zeitschrift für Psychologie, founded in 1890, is the oldest psychology journal in Europe and the second oldest in the world. One of the founding editors was Hermann Ebbinghaus. Since 2007 it is published in English and devoted to publishing topical issues that provide state-of-the-art reviews of current research in psychology.
