Citation

Morsy SK, Huepe-Artigas D, Kamal AM, Hassan MA, Abdel-Fadeel NA, Kanaan RAA. Australas. Psychiatry 2021; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/10398562211009247

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Psychosocial trauma was associated with developing conversion disorder (also known as functional neurological disorder) before Freud, though why a particular symptom should arise is unknown. We aimed to determine if there was a relationship between trauma type and symptom.

METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients attending Australia's first functional neurology clinic, including referral, clinic letters and a clinic questionnaire.

RESULTS: There were 106 females, 43 males and five transgender patients. Sensory (51%), motor (47%) and seizures (39%) were the commonest functional symptoms. Most patients (92%) reported stressors associated with symptom onset. Multiple trauma/symptom type associations were found: patients with in-law problems experienced more cognitive symptoms (p =.036), for example, while expressive speech problems more commonly followed relationship difficulties (p =.021).

CONCLUSION: Associations were found between type of traumatic events and type of symptoms in conversion disorder. This will require verification in a larger sample.

Language: en

Keywords

conversion; conversion symptoms; functional neurological; psychosocial trauma