Conversion Disorder
Conversion Disorder is a topic covered in the Johns Hopkins Psychiatry Guide.
To view the entire topic, please log in or purchase a subscription.
Official website of the Johns Hopkins Antibiotic (ABX), HIV, Diabetes, and Psychiatry Guides, powered by Unbound Medicine. Johns Hopkins Guide App for iOS, iPhone, iPad, and Android included. Explore these free sample topics:
-- The first section of this topic is shown below --
DEFINITION
- Conversion disorder is most simply defined as the presence of neurological symptoms (motor or sensory) without a known physiological basis.
- The neurological symptoms must be shown to be incompatible with pathophysiology.
- Conversion disorder (functional neurological symptom disorder) is classified under the Somatic Symptom and Related Disorders section of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5).[1]
- Other diagnoses under this section include somatic symptom disorder, illness anxiety disorder, and factitious disorder.
- When considering this diagnosis, it is important to have a firm understanding of somatization.
- Somatization is the expression of mental phenomena as physical (somatic) symptoms.
- There is a continuum of unconscious/non-volitional display of symptoms (patient unaware of the non-physiologic nature of symptoms) to conscious/volitional display (patient aware of the non-physiologic nature of symptoms).
- Also important is the difference between primary gain (positive internal motivations) vs. secondary gain (positive external motivations).
- Primary gain example: A patient feels guilty about not being able to perform a task, but if there is a medical condition justifying this inability, the guilt diminishes.
- Secondary gain example: A patient is allowed to miss work and gets financial compensation as the result of a medical condition.
- Any given patient with conversion disorder will have primary and/or secondary gains associated.
-- To view the remaining sections of this topic, please log in or purchase a subscription --
DEFINITION
- Conversion disorder is most simply defined as the presence of neurological symptoms (motor or sensory) without a known physiological basis.
- The neurological symptoms must be shown to be incompatible with pathophysiology.
- Conversion disorder (functional neurological symptom disorder) is classified under the Somatic Symptom and Related Disorders section of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5).[1]
- Other diagnoses under this section include somatic symptom disorder, illness anxiety disorder, and factitious disorder.
- When considering this diagnosis, it is important to have a firm understanding of somatization.
- Somatization is the expression of mental phenomena as physical (somatic) symptoms.
- There is a continuum of unconscious/non-volitional display of symptoms (patient unaware of the non-physiologic nature of symptoms) to conscious/volitional display (patient aware of the non-physiologic nature of symptoms).
- Also important is the difference between primary gain (positive internal motivations) vs. secondary gain (positive external motivations).
- Primary gain example: A patient feels guilty about not being able to perform a task, but if there is a medical condition justifying this inability, the guilt diminishes.
- Secondary gain example: A patient is allowed to miss work and gets financial compensation as the result of a medical condition.
- Any given patient with conversion disorder will have primary and/or secondary gains associated.
There's more to see -- the rest of this topic is available only to subscribers.
Last updated: May 2, 2017
Citation
Nathan, Margo D, and O. Joseph Bienvenu. "Conversion Disorder." Johns Hopkins Psychiatry Guide, 2017. Johns Hopkins Guides, www.hopkinsguides.com/hopkins/view/Johns_Hopkins_Psychiatry_Guide/787073/all/Conversion_Disorder.
Nathan MD, Bienvenu O. Conversion Disorder. Johns Hopkins Psychiatry Guide. 2017. https://www.hopkinsguides.com/hopkins/view/Johns_Hopkins_Psychiatry_Guide/787073/all/Conversion_Disorder. Accessed March 22, 2023.
Nathan, M. D., & Bienvenu, O. (2017). Conversion Disorder. In Johns Hopkins Psychiatry Guide https://www.hopkinsguides.com/hopkins/view/Johns_Hopkins_Psychiatry_Guide/787073/all/Conversion_Disorder
Nathan MD, Bienvenu O. Conversion Disorder [Internet]. In: Johns Hopkins Psychiatry Guide. ; 2017. [cited 2023 March 22]. Available from: https://www.hopkinsguides.com/hopkins/view/Johns_Hopkins_Psychiatry_Guide/787073/all/Conversion_Disorder.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - ELEC
T1 - Conversion Disorder
ID - 787073
A1 - Nathan,Margo ,M.D.
AU - Bienvenu,O. Joseph,M.D., Ph.D.
Y1 - 2017/05/02/
BT - Johns Hopkins Psychiatry Guide
UR - https://www.hopkinsguides.com/hopkins/view/Johns_Hopkins_Psychiatry_Guide/787073/all/Conversion_Disorder
DB - Johns Hopkins Guides
DP - Unbound Medicine
ER -