Newswise — Philadelphia, Pa. (March 23, 2011) – The Council of the American Psychosomatic Society (APS) is pleased to announce that Willem Kop, Ph.D., has been named Editor-in-Chief of Psychosomatic Medicine, Journal of Biobehavioral Medicine, the official journal of the American Psychosomatic Society. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

Dr. Kop is Professor of Medical Psychology and Neuropsychology at Tilburg University, the Netherlands and until 2010 he was Director of Behavioral Cardiology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, MD. He is internationally recognized for his work on Biobehavioral processes in health and disease. Dr. Kop has been an APS member since 1992 and has served on the Editorial Board of Psychosomatic Medicine, Journal of Biobehavioral Medicine since 2002. He takes over for outgoing Editor-in-Chief David S. Sheps, M.D., M.S.P.H.

Plans for Special Theme Issues, International FocusDr. Kop has developed exciting initiatives for enhancing the Journal under his tenure as Editor. Each year, a special issue will be published with specific focus on a theme relevant to the field of psychosomatic medicine. In advancing this new feature, Dr. Kop will collaborate with the APS Editorial Board to explore potential areas of interest. The statistics section of the Journal will be renamed "Statistics and Methodology," providing a new forum for research on innovative assessment and intervention tools.

Dr. Kop brings a unique international perspective to his position as Editor-in-Chief. He has worked with a variety of international thought leaders in psychosomatic medicine. He looks to increase international contributions and expand the journal's outreach beyond North America and Europe. In order to best represent the full variety of disciplines in the field of psychosomatic medicine, Dr. Kop also plans to expand the diversity of the Journal's Editorial Board.

The February/March, 2011, of Psychosomatic Medicine—the first issue under Dr. Kop's tenure—is available now. Subscribers and APS members can access the full contents of each issue at the journal website: http://www.psychosomaticmedicine.org.

About Psychosomatic MedicinePsychosomatic Medicine, Journal of Biobehavioral Medicine, founded in 1939, is the official peer-reviewed journal of the American Psychosomatic Society. It publishes experimental and clinical studies dealing with various aspects of the relationships among social, psychological, and behavioral factors and bodily processes in humans and animals. Psychosomatic Medicine, Journal of Biobehavioral Medicine is an international, interdisciplinary journal devoted to experimental and clinical investigation in behavioral biology, psychiatry, psychology, physiology, anthropology, and clinical medicine. The print journal is published nine times a year; most articles are published online ahead of print.

About the American Psychosomatic SocietyThe mission of the American Psychosomatic Society is to promote and advance the scientific understanding and multidisciplinary integration of biological, psychological, behavioral and social factors in human health and disease, and to foster the dissemination and application of this understanding in education and health care.

The American Psychosomatic Society is a worldwide community of scholars and clinicians dedicated to the scientific understanding of the interaction of mind, brain, body and social context in promoting health. The organization is devoted to biopsychosocial research and integrated clinical care, and to providing a forum via its website, Annual Meeting and journal, Psychosomatic Medicine, for sharing this research. Its members are from around the world, including specialists from all medical and health-related disciplines, the behavioral sciences, and the social sciences.

About Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (LWW) is a leading international publisher for healthcare professionals and students with nearly 300 periodicals and 1,500 books in more than 100 disciplines publishing under the LWW brand, as well as content-based sites and online corporate and customer services.

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