Keeping the gut in mind

Abstract

This paper reviews some of the ways in which Alexis Brook pioneered a truly psychosomatic approach at St Mark's Hospital (SMH), where he worked from 1986 for 9 years (and where the author succeeded him in 1995). This is a highly specialized hospital for disorders of the lower gastrointestinal tract, attracting referrals from throughout the UK and beyond.

Aspects of his work at SMH are described, mainly through the use of his papers, both published and unpublished. The author shows how Brook's legacy lives on, most concretely through a dedicated Psychological Medicine Unit at SMH, which builds on his work, and continues to influence numerous physicians, surgeons, dieticians and nurses who work there, along with many of the patients treated at this hospital.

Notes

1. I am indebted to Mrs Ruth Brook for entrusting to me, and to St Mark's Hospital, a collection of these unpublished writings.

2. At the conference JS presented a case to illustrate the current work of the SMH Psychological Medicine Unit. For the purposes of publication, details of this case have been omitted. Examples of the work of the unit currently can be found in the references listed below.