Clinical Cases in Psychocutaneous Disease

Clinical cases are a key component in modern medical education, assisting the trainee or recertifying clinician to work through unusual cases using best practice techniques. Dermatology is an important discipline in this regard since it is a highly visual subject requiring the reader to describe often very subtle differences in the presentation of patients and define accurately the diagnostic and management criteria to base their clinical decision-making on. This is particularly the case in the field of psychocutaneous disease where scientific advances are shedding new light on the understanding and treatment of long-recognized conditions located at the interface of dermatology and psychiatry. Psychodermatology covers all aspects of how the mind and body interact in relation to the onset and progression of various skin disorders.