Somatoform disorders are more common than many clinicians realize and are often under-diagnosed and poorly managed. This practical guide provides a comprehensive overview of all somatoform disorders. It aims to enable the mental health practitioner to properly diagnose and manage the disorders as well as to provide the appropriate advice to colleagues of other medical disciplines. Somatoform Disorders offers: detailed coverage of the concepts of each disorder; diagnosis, classification, co-morbidities and course and outcome; an outline of clinical, biological and psychosocial research in the area; an overview of clinical management and future perspectives; and the unique series format of systematic reviews followed by commentaries. Somatoform Disorders is the ninth volume in the WPA Series Evidence and Experience in Psychiatry. The geographic representation in the authorship of this book is even broader than in the other volumes of the series: the contributors are from 35 different countries, representing all the continents and all the the geographic zones of the WPThe readership of this book is expected to be slightly different from that of the other volumes of the series, including not only psychiatrists and other mental health workers, but also general practitioners and other medical specialists. These colleagues will probably appreciate the clinical orientation of all the chapters of the book and the deliberate attempt to avoid the use of a strictly psychiatric jargon.