Year: 1986
Type: article
Abstract: Over 21 million American women suffer from the chronic, cyclic psychoneuroendocrinological dysfunction known as premenstrual syndrome (PMS) (Greenfield & Wolf, 1983). At least five million of these women suffer from symptoms so debilitating that their personal and/or professional lives are disrupted (Labrum, 1983). Women who suffer from PMS often seek counseling because of the syndrome's behavioral, affective, and emotional components. Mental health professionals must be prepared to aid both the client and her gynecologist in the diagnosis and treatment of PMS. This research report includes (1) a synopsis of the medical literature including some of the theories of etiology and treatment procedures, (2) a review of the psychiatric ramifications and psychological treatments of PMS, and (3) a PMS Packet designed to aid mental health professionals and their clients in the evaluation of PMS. It is unknown whether PMS is a disease or a physiologically abnormal menstrual cycle which appears to be quite common (Sanders, Warner, Backstrom, & Bancroft, 1983; Shangold, 1983). Nonetheless, women with premenstrual syndrome need and deserve our attention and best efforts at finding the cause(s) and the appropriate treatments.
Author: Alison W. Kolodinsky
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2733020471