[Somatoform disorders. What is wrong when there is "nothing" wrong?].

Patients with somatoform and dissociative disorders complain of symptoms suggesting physical disease. These patients are high utilizers of health services but seldom receive relevant treatment. Recently empirical data have been obtained concerning epidemiology, familiar distribution, and relation to personality in these disorders. Somatoform patients often have comorbid depression and anxiety disorder. These complications are often overlooked, but accessible to psychopharmacological treatment. A number of psychotherapeutic techniques have been developed for treatment in general practice and in hospital settings.