Exam 10: Somatic Symptom and Related Disorders

The diagnosis of illness anxiety disorder is more prevalent women in than in men.

For the past 7 months LaSonya Hill, age 32, has complained of pain, gastrointestinal, sexual, and pseudo neurological symptoms which are not better explained by a known medical condition. What would be your beginning diagnosis?

Light-headedness upon standing up is a symptom that is not seen in the diagnosis of conversion disorder.

Catherine Connally is a 48 year-old woman who has quite an attractive fair and freckled complexion. Unfortunately, she has a strong family history of skin cancer and remembers her grandmother's tragic death from untreated melanoma. Over the past few years, Catherine has started visiting her dermatologist every few weeks to be evaluated for skin cancer. She is preoccupied with the presentation of the freckles on different parts of her body and worries over the smallest patch of dry skin This serves as evidence for Catherine that she has a form of skin cancer. She is constantly checking her face, eyes, and ears despite not having any discoloration, changes in the size of her freckles of concern), sores or bleeding, or other somatic symptoms. She does have a history of an anxiety disorder. Would be the most likely diagnosis to consider for Catherine?

Use the following terms to answer: Care-seeking type Factitious disorder Illness anxiety Persistent Predominant pain Somatic symptom Swallowing symptoms -Someone with illness anxiety disorder who constantly seeks medical care, including multiple visits to the doctor or undergoing tests and procedures, could be specified as ____________.

"La Belle indifference" or the lack of apparent concern about the nature or implications of a symptom is not required for making the diagnosis of conversion disorder.

Use the following terms to answer: Care-seeking type Factitious disorder Illness anxiety Persistent Predominant pain Somatic symptom Swallowing symptoms -The somatic symptom disorder specifier used for individuals whose somatic symptoms predominately involve pain is called with ____________.

Use the following terms to answer: Care-seeking type Factitious disorder Illness anxiety Persistent Predominant pain Somatic symptom Swallowing symptoms -One of the sensory symptoms of conversion disorder involves difficulties swallowing or the feeling of having something stuck in the throat and is popularly known as globus hystericus or simply called globus which is specified as with ____________.

All of the following are symptoms of somatic symptom disorder except:

If the social worker encounters someone with a pattern of behavior that can be diagnosed as a general medical disorder but the major difference is that the individual deliberately and consciously seeks to obtain a reward or avoid some unpleasant situation, what would be the most likely diagnosis to consider?

Imagine for a moment that you encounter a client with a high level of anxiety about having a disease and many associated somatic symptoms. What would be the most likely diagnosis to consider?

How many somatic symptoms are required to meet criteria for the diagnosis of somatic symptom disorder?

Which of the following is not a specifier for conversion disorder?

Someone with illness anxiety disorder is preoccupied with having or acquiring a serious illness. In some cases, the individual is constantly seeking medical care, changing doctors, and/or undergoing tests and procedures. What specifier would support this pattern?

A physician treated Andronious Onassis because he initially presented with paralysis and loss of sensation on the left side of his body; blindness and deafness were also reported. After a completed, and comprehensive medical work-up there was no evidence of any disease process. Andronious' symptoms suggest:

Identify in your answer the common link found among the various somatic symptom and related disorders.

Issues of secondary gain need to be evaluated and, fi present, are to be gently addressed when working with a client who has a somatic symptom disorder.

Complaints about vision and normal examinations are consistent with the diagnosis of conversion disorder, specifically for the anesthesia or sensory loss specifier

Ebony Stover is a 59 year-old grandmother who recently had a reoccurrence of breast cancer with metastases to the bone causing persistent pain. She has been treated with medications that result in hot flashes. Prior to the reoccurrence, Ebony had been employed as part-time as a housekeeper but because of her current symptoms she has not been able to work. She is surrounded by her family - especially her daughters and granddaughters - who are a source of comfort to her. For them, Ebony maintains a stoical and hopeful outlook on her prognosis. What would be the appropriate diagnosis to consider for Ebony?

Andre Fournier has had a preoccupation with fears of having a serious life-threatening disease. He has consulted many doctors over the past several years about this. According to Andre, there has been no evidence of any viable disease process going on for him and he states, "While all the docs tell me that I'm perfectly fine, I know they're wrong. They just haven't found my cancer yet". Andre's preoccupation with his health is indicative of: