Joav Merrick 
Alternative Medicine Research Yearbook 2014 

In this yearbook we start out with chapters on mental health, stress, yoga and other interesting topic on alternative medicine, but the other three sections are related to psychiatry and dermatology. The skin has evolved over millions of years of life from a simple envelope to cover microscopic organisms to a complex organ system that has protected complex life from a harsh environment. The skin and central nervous system (CNS) develop together in utero and remain intricately connected throughout the life of Homo sapiens. Diseases of the skin have led to considerable medical as well as psychological morbidity, caustic contumely, and even Stygian mortality over the hundreds of years of the hominoid existence. When the skin is diseased, significant psychosomatic, behavioral, and psychiatric factors can result in a gallimaufry of primary and/or secondary disorders. Both dermatologists, primary care clinicians, psychiatrists, psychologists, and others can learn from these chapters, take this knowledge and apply it to their patients.