Exam 6: Somatic Symptom and Dissociative Disorders

Explain the current thinking regarding the environmental and psychological mechanisms in the development of dissociative identity disorder.

When do conversion disorder symptoms generally appear?

Which of the following is important when treating conversion disorder?

What happens during interpersonality amnesia?

Henry has illness anxiety disorder.What are his symptoms?

Shannon brings an extremely long list of physical complaints,with which she is inordinately preoccupied,to all of her frequent appointments with medical practitioners.However,extensive medical examinations have shown no physical basis for these complaints.With which disorder would Shannon likely be diagnosed? Provide at least three areas of functioning that therapy should address for the most effective treatment of Shannon's disorder.Include a rationale for each recommendation.

Both psychological and physical processes are involved in the perception of pain.Explain how this makes the DSM 5 diagnosis of somatic symptom disorder with predominant pain particularly difficult and partially subjective.

Pat has dissociative identity disorder and lives with her parents.Her parents observe her "switch" from one personality to another on a regular basis.How do her parents describe the "switches"?

What is the most common type of dissociative disorder in non-Western cultures?

A 30-year-old woman "recovers" memories of childhood sexual abuse,the existence of which she was previously unaware.Explain what is currently known about the accuracy of recovered memories.Can we determine whether these memories are accurate?

While driving alone in her car,Sally suddenly looks around and,for a moment,she can't remember where she is,how she arrived at this point on the road,or even why she is driving her car.What is Sally experiencing?

Jill is constantly worried that she will get sick.Although she feels fine now and believes that she is healthy,she still worries endlessly about developing a serious illness.What would Jill most likely be diagnosed with?

In the absence of any physical trauma to the brain or drug intoxication,what is the most likely cause of sudden loss of ability to recall important personal information?

Doctors suspect that Allen has somatic symptom disorder.What symptoms is Allen most likely displaying?

Discuss some of the ways in which it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between conversion reactions,real physical disorders,and malingering (faking).Describe some of the ways that can help a clinician make an accurate diagnosis.

Discuss the similarities and the differences between somatoform disorders and dissociative disorders,as understood historically and also currently,in terms of psychological features.

Mark has a seizure disorder and has developed some dissociative symptoms.Gary has dissociative symptoms but no seizure disorder.What likely differs between Mark and Gary?

What is the meaning of the word "soma"?

Anne feels as though she has a lump in her throat,but the doctors can find no obstructions.What diagnosis is a psychiatrist most likely to give Anne?

What is one reason that dissociative identity disorder can be misdiagnosed as a psychotic disorder?