1. Somatoform and Dissociative Disorders
Chapter 16 Section 3
Somatoform and Dissociative Disorders

2. Somatoform Disorders
Somatoform Disorders, or Psychosomatic Disorders, have physical symptoms for which there is no known physical cause.
Psycho= mind
Soma= body

3. Somatoform Disorders
It was once believed that somatoform disorders happened only in women, as a result of hysteria.
Hysteria comes from
the Greek word for
“uterus”, because a woman
was believed to be hysterical
when her uterus was
wandering around her
body!

4. Somatoform Disorders
Conversion Disorders: one converts emotional difficulty into the loss of a specific physiological function.
i.e., blindness, numbness of limbs, paralysis of legs, fainting, etc.
No physical damage.
Persists (not temporary).
Believed that patients unconsciously invent physical symptoms to escape psychological conflict.

5. Somatoform Disorders
Hypochondriasis: A healthy person believes he/she has many different illnesses.
Usually from repressing
emotions (i.e. rejection),
then they are expressed
symbolically in physical
symptoms.

6. Somatoform Disorders

7. Dissociative Disorders
Person experiences changes in memory, consciousness, or identity.
Dissociative amnesia (usually from trauma): inability to recall important personal events.
Dissociative fugue (also called “traveling amnesia): suddenly leaves home for an extended period of time, and is unable to remember the past, or how one got to the present location.

8. Dissociative Disorders
Dissociative identity disorder (also called multiple personality disorder): one person has two or more distinct identities that take over at different times.
May be a result of severe
physical, psychological, or
sexual abuse during
childhood.

9. The Real Sybil Shirley Ardell Mason (Jan. 1923-Feb. 1998)
Commercial artist and psych patient.
Was a substitute teacher in and student at Columbia University in the 1950’s.
Often suffered from blackouts and emotional breakdowns.
Entered psychotherapy with Dr. Cornelia Wilbur, a Freudian psychologist. Their sessions are the basis for the book and movie Sybil.
Taught art classes and ran an art gallery from her home in Lexington, Kentucky.
Died of breast cancer in 1998.

10. Munchausen’s Syndrome (a.k.a Hospital Addiction Syndrome)
The patient usually is very sensitive to emotional pain, and will go to great lengths to avoid feeling it.
Instead, they self-induce or self-define physical symptoms or illnesses. They are aware that they are lying/exaggerating. This can often be deadly.
Their ultimate goal is to have the doctor take extraordinary measures to save their life.
Seems to be a “cry for help” or a way to obtain nurturing care and attention.
The role of “patient” is familiar and comforting.

11. Munchausen’s by Proxy
Rather than fake illnesses in themselves, they will fake illnesses in someone else, mainly their child.
This can result in severe physical illness and death.
Munchausen mothers seemingly do this to gain attention, sympathy, money, and essentially to escape their own psychological discomfort.

12. Munchausen’s by Proxy
Kathleen Bush was found guilty of intentionally making her daughter, Jennifer, severely sick.
By the time Jenny was 8 years
old, she had spent 640 days in
the hospital and had 40 needless
surgeries. Her gall bladder, appendix,
and part of her intestine were removed.
The case even attracted the
attention of First Lady Hilary Clinton
in 1999.

13. Murder of Sandra Cantu: March 2009
8 year old Sandra Cantu was
murdered by her neighbor and
playmate’s mom Melissa
Huckaby in Tracy, CA