[Janus-faced therapy: what is common in psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy?].

The traditional biomedical approach separated psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy dichotomously. The biopsychosocial model of medicine stimulated the integration of these basic therapeutic modalities. There are many pieces of evidence testifying to the close relationship of somatic and psychological manifestations, and this connection is mainly represented by psychosomatic medicine. The present paper reviews some essential fields of psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy, e.g. similarities, interference, some important models of therapeutic integration, cost-benefit evidences, and some research implications. In today's medicine, integration is a basic requirement, and hence the dichotomous confrontation of psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy has become unacceptable. One important trend is the recognition that theories of modern psychotherapy cannot do without a sound knowledge of the brain functions.