DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT OF CONVERSION DISORDERS

Conversion disorders are symptoms or deficits of voluntary movement or of the sensorium which are not due to neurologic or other medical dis ease. Historically the concept of conversion in psychoanalytic theory has been closely related to hysteria. According to the current psychia tric classification (DSMIV) conversion disorder is a subdiagnosis of s omatoform disorder. Conversion disorder presents with functional impai rment varying in severity. Some forms of the disorder manifest with se vere physical handicap. The paper gives an overview on definition, cla ssification, diagnosis, course and treatment. Since this review is par t of the process of developing guidelines for the diagnosis and treatm ent of the disorder some of the intrinsic methodological aspects of ev aluating clinical and empirical evidence in the field of psychotherapy and psychosomatics are discussed.