Psychosomatic medicine deals with physical disorders that are also called psychophysiologic disorders, or somatoform disorders. An illness may be considered psychosomatic when it seems to result from strong emotional conditions such as anxiety, trauma, depression, anger or guilt, rather than a physical cause. A physician who specializes in psychosomatic medicine will first test the patient to rule out physical causes. A psychosomatic illness will often respond to pain medication or other medical help, but psychological assessment is required to find the underlying cause of the illness.

Some psychosomatic illnesses are irritable bowel syndrome, upset stomach, muscle aches, tension headaches, panic attacks, colitis and ulcers, and even infertility. Psychological stress can reduce the effectiveness of the immune system and lower energy levels, allowing the body to create or worsen physical diseases. The way a person handles stress often affects the severity of psychosomatic illnesses.

Doctor density varies by specialty and location. The United States has 583 practicing psychosomatic medicine doctors. Broken out by state, psychosomatic medicine doctor density in Alabama is 5, in Alaska is 1, in Arizona is 16, in Arkansas is 4, in California is 77, in Colorado is 5, in Connecticut is 20, in District of Columbia is 10, in Florida is 18, in Georgia is 13, in Hawaii is 9, in Idaho is 1, in Illinois is 24, in Indiana is 5, in Iowa is 9, in Kansas is 4, in Kentucky is 3, in Louisiana is 7, in Maine is 3, in Maryland is 14, in Massachusetts is 38, in Michigan is 21, in Minnesota is 21, in Mississippi is 4, in Missouri is 9, in Nebraska is 1, in Nevada is 5, in New Hampshire is 4, in New Jersey is 31, in New Mexico is 5, in New York is 114, in North Carolina is 11, in Ohio is 26, in Oklahoma is 3, in Oregon is 5, in Pennsylvania is 36, in Rhode Island is 3, in South Carolina is 4, in Tennessee is 7, in Texas is 34, in Utah is 3, in Vermont is 2, in Virginia is 23, in Washington is 8, in West Virginia is 3, in Wisconsin is 12, and in Wyoming is 1.