Treatment of a severe conversion disorder in a 10-year-old boy: a case study and overview

Conversion disorder (CD) in children remains a major challenge both in pediatric and mental health clinics and is still a prevalent psychiatric disorder in developing countries. The authors describe a 10-year-old boy with the complaints of inability to walk, speak or eat, excessive drooling, urinary and fecal incontinence, disturbance from light and sound, and expression of needs only by eye movements. The patient diagnosed with CD was followed by the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry with play therapy, individual psychotherapy and family therapy. At the end of three months, the patient was discharged. This is one of the most challenging cases of CD in children. The most important aim of the treatment is to understand the need for conversion symptoms and to constitute a healthy psychological environment for the child rather than to remove the physical symptoms.