Conversion Disorder Case Study

Conversion Disorder The last category of somatoform disorder being discussed, and possibly the complex form of this disorder, is conversion disorder. Many case studies have been published speaking to the conceivable severity of this disorder. A conversion disorder is defined as, A disorder involving the loss or alteration of physical functioning, such as paralysis, voice loss, tunnel vision, or seizures, that is the result of a psychological involvement or need rather than a physical illness or disease. Also called conversion hysteria, conversion hysteria neurosis, conversion reaction (Stedman's Medical Dictionary, 2006). While there are many symptoms that are associated with conversion disorder, the most common reported are loss of sight, paralysis and seizures. (Aetna Inteli Health, 2004). A study done in 2002 by Roelofs et al. evaluated 54 patients that suffered from conversion disorder with 50 corresponding patients in an attempt to evaluate the correlation between conversion disorder and childhood truma. “The patients had been referred for either in or outpatient treatment to a general …show more content…
To reject other confounding variables within a sample group. There also needs to be more research done among more diverse populations to find out if there are any cultural or genetic factors that may be limited to a specific group, that might may influence the development of somatoform disorders. Majority of the research surrounding somatoform disorder has been done on with largely American population and because of this the findings in this research could possibly be generalized to other cultures. While the is no reason to state that the research is inaccurate based on the generalizations, there could be different factors and cultural differences that possibly could develop when other cultures are actually