Professional association SAPPM

Origins of the professional association

In the wake of World War II, calls grew louder for a corrective approach that would respect human dignity and subjectivity and anchor them as fundamental realities in modern medicine. Although psychosomatic illnesses have been described since ancient times, they were—despite their prevalence—overlooked or stigmatized by the increasingly positivist and fragmented medical practice of the early 20th century.

In response, a successful reform movement emerged in various countries in Europe and the United States beginning in the 1950s. In the 1980s, psychosocial medicine was made a required part of the curriculum at medical schools. The SAPPM was established in 2008 as a professional association, emerging from various predecessor organizations in Switzerland.

Psychosomatic medicine is now well established in Switzerland.

Present and outlook

Over the past three decades, psychosomatic medicine has garnered significant attention amid the rise in stress-related disorders and improved methods for identifying them. At the same time, research into psychosomatic disorders has made great strides. Medical understanding has moved away from dualistic, “psychologizing” interpretations and is evolving into an exciting fusion of the natural and human sciences.

Thanks to its status as a secondary medical specialty (in addition to a specialty certification of one’s choice), psychosomatic medicine in Switzerland has a strongly interdisciplinary nature and exerts a broad, cross-disciplinary impact with subject-specific sub-specializations, such as gynecological psychosomatics, pediatric psychosomatics, neurological psychosomatics, etc.

SAPPM already has over 1,000 members throughout Switzerland. The majority of its members are dedicated to serving patients in primary care.

As a professional association, SAPPM is committed to addressing issues relevant to the future through collaborative, interdisciplinary work with other fields.

Organizational structure of SAPPM