Cognitive-behavioural treatment of functional neurological symptoms (conversion disorder) in children and adolescents: A case series.

Cognitive-behavioural treatment of functional neurological symptoms (conversion disorder) in children and adolescents: A case series. Eur J Paediatr Neurol. 2018 Dec 13;: Authors: McFarlane FA, Allcott-Watson H, Hadji-Michael M, McAllister E, Stark D, Reilly C, Bennett SD, McWillliams A, Heyman I Abstract AIM: To describe a cognitive-behavioural treatment and clinical outcomes in a series of children with functional neurological symptoms (FNS). METHOD: Thirty-six children with FNS were assessed and of these twenty-two (13 male, 9 female) with a mean age 14.5 years (SD = 2.6, range 6-17 years) completed treatment with cognitive behaviour therapy embedded in routine child and adolescent clinical/systemic practice. Treatment outcomes were measured at baseline and post-intervention on the Child Global Assessment Scale (CGAS), Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), Goal Based Outcomes (GBO) and Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS). RESULTS: Scores on the CGAS improved significantly post-intervention (p < 0.001) with 82% of participants showing reliable change. Individualised goals (GBO) also showed clinically meaningful gains. Standard measures of emotional and behavioural symptoms (SDQ and RCADS) did not correlate well with clinical diagnoses, were usually subthreshold at baseline, and did not show significant improvement post-intervention. INTERPRETATION: The outcome of this pilot st...
Source: European Journal of Paediatric Neurology - Category: Neurology Authors: Tags: Eur J Paediatr Neurol Source Type: research