Psychosomatik der Kopfschmerzen

Headaches are subdivided into primary and secondary headaches according to the classification of the International Headache Society. While primary headaches represent the disease itself, secondary headaches are a manifestation as symptoms of another primary disease. This results in different therapeutic approaches so that secondary headaches are initially treated according to the actual cause of the headache. In contrast primary headaches have no further causes and necessitate fundamentally different treatment in comparison to secondary headaches. The psychosomatics integrate somatic procedures with psychiatric and social processes. This integration forms the basis of the biopsychosocial model which has the great advantage of being able to offer several approaches to psychiatric processes and accomanying alterations. For primary headaches psychotherapeutic strategies and modifications in the social environment of the patient can be applied in addition to medicinal (i.e. biological somatic) treatment procedures, in order to be able to positively influence the underlying disease. This article presents the most important primary headache diseases, migraine and tension-type headache and demonstrates treatment options which can be used in accordance with the biopsychosocial model presented.