This open access book is a systematic update of the philosophical and
scientific foundations of the biopsychosocial model of health, disease
and healthcare. First proposed by George Engel 40 years ago, the
Biopsychosocial Model is much cited in healthcare settings worldwide,
but has been increasingly criticised for being vague, lacking in
content, and in need of reworking in the light of recent developments.
The book confronts the rapid changes to psychological science,
neuroscience, healthcare, and philosophy that have occurred since the
model was first proposed and addresses key issues such as the model's
scientific basis, clinical utility, and philosophical coherence.
The authors conceptualise biology and the psychosocial as in the same
ontological space, interlinked by systems of communication-based
regulatory control which constitute a new kind of causation. These are
distinguished from physical and chemical laws, most clearly because they
can break down, thus providing the basis for difference between health
and disease. This work offers an urgent update to the model's scientific
and philosophical foundations, providing a new and coherent account of
causal interactions between the biological, the psychological and
social.