Epidemiology & Public Health

A comprehensive model of diseases is proposed - both in their physical and psychic aspects - starting from the pair of opposites named introversion and extraversion by Carl Gustav Jung in 1913. His seminal theory of typology was the reference for Elida Evans' book on cancer in 1926, which will be the foundation of psycho-oncology and of the holistic approach to cancer. Moreover, an explanation of neurological mechanisms underlying the conscious attitude-types of introversion and extraversion is presented. It is also shown that, since 1974, Sydney J. Blatt used these concepts to devise a theory of psychopathology that has had important effects on psychotherapy and on Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) of mental disorders In 1990, independently of each other, George A. Bonanno and Jerome L. Singer of Yale University, and Marco Balenci of Sapienza University conceived two similar models of diseases, based on the psychophysical balance of the attitude-types. After thirty years there has been no particular development of these models. Persistent dualism in medicine may explain this trend. Actually, this kind of model derives from a holistic view of medicine, which was advocated by George L. Engel giving relevance to bio-psychosocial factors since the 1950s. Currently, the discoveries of psychoneuroimmunology and developmental psychobiology can provide a new scientific impetus to the individual-as-a-whole in medicine.