The biopsychosocial model it is an approach that understands disease and health as a set of factors that include biological, psychological and social. It was developed by psychiatrist George Engels in opposition to the traditional medical model, which used to focus only on the physical aspects of problems.
Although it was originally created only to apply to medicine, it later spread to other fields such as psychology, sociology and social work. Since then, it has become the predominant focus in these disciplines due to its greater explanatory and intervention power..
The greatest advance of the biopsychosocial model is that it allowed specialists to stop looking for a single cause for disorders (both physical and mental).
On the contrary, since it was adopted it is understood that each problem is caused by a set of factors that must be fully understood in order to work on them..
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The main characteristic of the biopsychosocial model is that it understands that diseases of all kinds are caused by various factors of different nature.
Thus, it is opposed to the biomedical model, whose followers thought that any problem had to do only with the chemistry of the body and the brain.
On the contrary, health specialists who rely on this approach try to look for factors of three types to explain why a disease arises: biological, psychological and social. Let's see each of them:
Almost all diseases are based on the chemistry of the body or brain. In the case of those of physical origin, this is very clear: a disorder can be caused by a failure in the function of an organ, by the invasion of an external agent or by a hormonal imbalance, among other reasons..
However, mental illnesses also tend to have a physical cause, although this may not be as obvious as in the case of those that affect the body.
For example, today we know that depression is associated with a lack of serotonin production, so its effects can be alleviated by increasing it artificially..
On the other hand, biological factors also include those related to the genetic load of an individual. In recent decades it has been discovered that genes play a very important role in the appearance of certain diseases, both those that affect the body and those of the brain.
Traditionally, psychological factors - such as thoughts, beliefs and attitudes - have been neglected by most health professionals who were not directly engaged in treating mental illness. However, recently it has been discovered that they are of great importance in all kinds of disorders.
Thus, in those that affect the mind -such as depression or anxiety- it is evident that the way in which we think has a great influence on the development and maintenance of symptoms..
The revolution has come with the discovery that these factors can also favor or mitigate the problems associated with physical illnesses..
For example, today we know that emotions are a very important factor in the recovery of patients from diseases such as cancer. Therefore, it is important that doctors are also trained in treating the psychological part of their patients..
Finally, social factors had been neglected in the treatment of all kinds of illnesses, both physical and mental..
However, since the appearance of the biopsychosocial model, we know that the support of a good social circle or a structured family can be key to the recovery of patients.
Even belonging to a good social environment can delay or prevent the appearance of physical and mental disorders: this can be done by promoting good health habits or improving the emotional state of those affected..
The shift from a biomedical to a biopsychosocial approach has not been quick or easy. However, the advantages of the second approach are taking hold, which is why more and more healthcare professionals are adopting it. Next we will see the most important advantages:
By recognizing the importance of factors such as emotions, the social environment and thoughts in the development of diseases, much more effective prevention campaigns have been generated.
This occurs mainly because the biopsychosocial model has made it possible to discover more factors involved in disorders, with which it is possible to intervene more effectively than those in which the biomedical model focuses..
People affected by a disorder are not seen as an abnormality within this approach. This helps to alleviate part of the social and emotional consequences caused by most diseases..
Because the biopsychosocial model highlights the importance of factors that are within the sphere of control of the person with the disease, they can take a more active role in their own recovery.
On the other hand, by adopting this model the patient is also able to do more to prevent the onset of the disease in the first place..
Like all theories of health, the biopsychosocial model also has a number of drawbacks. Let's see what they are below:
One of the advantages of the biomedical model is that doctors only have to know a lot about a specific topic to cure their patients: the physical causes of diseases.
On the contrary, a health professional who works with the biopsychosocial approach also has to worry about taking care of the patient's feelings and thoughts; In addition, you must seek that they have adequate social support.
By including two other factors as broad as possible causes of all kinds of diseases, diagnoses are no longer so straightforward.
Sometimes, this can make it difficult to find the exact origin of the disease, which can delay the administration of adequate treatment.
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