Psychosocial Aspects of Adults with Congenital Heart Disease Edward Callus and Emilia Quadri Contents Introduction ....................................................................................... 2 Psychological Characterization of Adults with Congenital Heart Disease ..................... 4 The Role of Psychologists in the Care for Adults with Congenital Heart Disease ............ 7 Provision of Clinical Services ................................................................ 7 Multidisciplinary Research ................................................................... 9 Professional Education: Increasing Psychosocial Awareness ............................... 9 Conclusion ........................................................................................ 10 References ........................................................................................ 10 Abstract During the last few decades, the survival rate of adults with congenital heart disease (ConHD) has increased considerably. The psychological characteriza- tion of adults with ConHD is very different from patients with acquired cardiac pathologies. Recent guidelines of cardiology associations indicate the necessity for specialized psychosocial support. The majority of the studies in the literature indicate the absence of a relationship between diagnosis, physical functionality, and the presence of residual symptoms and a worse psychological functioning in these patients. The variables which seem to be related to psychological well- being in these patients are the following; negative thoughts, solitude, social support, fear of negative evaluation, imposition of limits, perceived health status, somatic symptoms, perception of an economical difficulty, and restric- tions linked to the surgical scar in females. Interestingly, studies, which utilized psychiatric interviews or similar methodologies, outlined that it was common for patients, who were diagnosed with a mood or anxiety disorder, not to have E. Callus (*) • E. Quadri Pediatric and Adult Congenital Heart Disease Centre, IRCCS Policlinico San Donato University Hospital, San Donato Milanese, Lombardy, Italy e-mail: edward.callus@gmail.com # Springer Science+Business Media Singapore 2015 M. Alvarenga, D. Byrne (eds.), Handbook of Psychocardiology, DOI 10.1007/978-981-4560-53-5_23-1 1