Türkiye Journal of Integrative Psychotherapy Volume: 9 Issue 17; From Editor to Reader...
This issue of the Türkiye Journal of Integrative Psychotherapy focuses on the permeable boundaries between psychological processes and bodily experience, and on the multilayered effects of traumatic experiences on psychopathology. In doing so, it compellingly demonstrates that a holistic clinical perspective is no longer a preference but a necessity.
The first axis of this issue is grounded in the idea that the body is not merely a biological structure, but also a carrier and expressive field of psychic life. The review on skin and skin disorders, discussed within a psychoanalytic psychosomatic framework, positions the skin not only as the boundary of the organism but as a “psychic surface” directly related to ego organization, object relations, and early caregiving experiences. The theoretical distinctions between the Chicago School’s emphasis on unconscious conflict and drive dynamics and the Paris Psychosomatic School’s focus on mentalization capacity, essential depression, and the concept of the allergic object relation demonstrate that dermatological symptoms can be understood not only as organic phenomena but also as bodily inscriptions of unrepresented psychic experiences. In particular, the connection between the quality of contact, containment, and primary object relations and skin disorders provides a strong theoretical foundation that underscores the importance of collaboration among dermatology, psychiatry, and psychotherapy in clinical practice.
The second main line of the issue concentrates on trauma and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Addressing trauma as an experience that disrupts an individual’s systems of safety, control, and meaning, the review highlights that PTSD should be considered not only through symptom lists but also in terms of prevalence, etiology, and treatment dimensions. The joint evaluation of multiple risk domains—such as biological vulnerabilities, previous psychiatric history, childhood traumas, and social and cultural variables—demonstrates that PTSD must be understood within a biopsychosocial model rather than a linear one. The discussion of psychotherapeutic and pharmacological approaches together further emphasizes the importance of phase-oriented and needs-based planning in trauma treatment.
Another study that complements this theoretical and clinical framework focuses on the issue of differential diagnosis in PTSD, drawing attention to one of the most critical problems in the trauma field: symptom overlap. Symptoms such as sleep disturbances, irritability, attentional difficulties, and mood fluctuations substantially overlap with depression, anxiety disorders, and dissociative disorders, creating a basis for diagnostic errors. In this context, careful evaluation of the temporal and contextual relationship between the traumatic event and the symptoms, as well as the identification of trauma-specific patterns such as re-experiencing and avoidance, becomes decisive in clinical decision-making. By emphasizing the complex structure of PTSD and the need for interdisciplinary and systematic assessment, the study serves as a methodological reminder to all professionals working in the trauma field.
When this issue is evaluated as a whole, three shared emphases stand out:
Overcoming the artificial division between body and mind: Across a spectrum ranging from skin disorders to trauma responses, bodily symptoms cannot be considered independent of psychological functioning.
The embodiment of the unrepresentable: Experiences that cannot be mentalized or put into words may emerge in the skin or in trauma symptoms, making the exploration of the “meaning” of symptoms indispensable in clinical work.
Interdisciplinary necessity: Collaborative work at the intersection of dermatology, psychiatry, clinical psychology, and psychotherapy clearly enhances both diagnostic accuracy and treatment effectiveness.
The essence of the integrative psychotherapy perspective lies precisely here: not in silencing the symptom, but in understanding the language the symptom speaks. The studies included in this issue invite clinicians to explore the dynamics beneath surface manifestations, to consider trauma not merely as an event but as a process, and to listen to the body as the silent yet powerful narrator of psychic life.
We extend our gratitude to all authors and reviewers who have contributed to this issue, and we hope that it will offer our readers both theoretical insight and direct relevance to clinical practice.
31 January 2026
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Fatümatü Zehra ERCAN
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