Social support and social therapy

Arguments to support the view that psychological factors have a major influence on bodily health have typically used anecdotal evidence. This is curious since there is a whole body of evidence from large scale, prospective surveys which indicate that those with large social networks are less likely to fall ill and die from all causes and specifically from cancer, heart disease and strokes. Moreover it seems that social networks can be enhanced by appropriate professional help to foster what seems to be almost a universal panacea.