A mounting body of research confirms the clinical wisdom that mental health affects physical
health. Recent psychophysiological research has unraveled some of the mechanisms by which
mental health problems and general life stress may cause physical diseases such as coronary
heart disease, cancer, diabetes and autoimmune disorders. Encouraging news for the mental
health practitioner is that the sum of research findings suggests that psychological treatment not
only improves psychological symptoms, but can have an independent effect on physical health
and disease. The mind-body connection appears so significant that the use of psychological
techniques can even reduce the risk of most major diseases. MATTHEW BAMBLING draws on
recent research and behavioural medicine to illustrate how depression and anxiety influence
physiological processes with particular reference to coronary heart disease. An evaluation is
undertaken of how psychotherapy and psychological interventions can influence not only mental
health,butalsophysicalhealththroughreductionofthestressresponseandassociatedendocrine
function. The implications of these findings for clinical practice are explored.