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Conversion Disorder

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Practical Psychology in Medical Rehabilitation

Abstract

Conversion disorder is defined by one or more physical symptoms that are not under voluntary control and are not thought to be caused by neurological or medical conditions. The key feature of this disorder is thus the incongruence between presented symptomology and medical conceptualizations of organic diseases. The most commonly observed conversion symptoms include blindness, psychogenic non-epileptic seizures, paralyses, unresponsiveness, anesthesia, aphonia, and abnormal gait. There is no unified model for conversion disorder and its conceptualization relies on psychological, social, and biological factors. The onset of the symptoms is sudden, and is often preceded by either psychological or physical trauma. The diagnosis of conversion disorder is often problematic. Since the presenting symptoms of this psychiatric disorder are neurological, a full diagnosis often requires collaboration between a psychiatrist and a neurologist. Once the diagnosis has been made several treatment options may be considered. While there are no specific pharmacological or psychological treatments for conversion disorder, case reports suggest that a multidisciplinary approach in rehabilitation settings with an emphasis on maximizing physical function appear to be most beneficial.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    It is noteworthy to mention that these statistics relied on the older diagnostic criteria that necessitated the existence of psychological factors associated with symptoms. These stricter criteria may have complicated the diagnosis and possibly led to the underdiagnosing and underreporting of the disorder.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada

    Esther Yakobov B.Sc. & Michael J. L. Sullivan Ph.D.

  2. Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montréal, QC, Canada

    Tomas Jurcik Ph.D.

Authors
  1. Esther Yakobov B.Sc.
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  2. Tomas Jurcik Ph.D.
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  3. Michael J. L. Sullivan Ph.D.
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Esther Yakobov B.Sc. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Maggi A. Budd

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Sigmund Hough

  3. Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

    Stephen T. Wegener

  4. Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

    William Stiers

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© 2017 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

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Yakobov, E., Jurcik, T., Sullivan, M.J.L. (2017). Conversion Disorder. In: Budd, M., Hough, S., Wegener, S., Stiers, W. (eds) Practical Psychology in Medical Rehabilitation. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-34034-0_30

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-34034-0_30

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-34032-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-34034-0

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