Maladaptive schemas of patients with functional neurological symptom disorder

The psychological underpinnings of functional neurological symptom disorders (FNSD) remain poorly understood. A disintegration of explicit and implicit information processing in patients with FNSD has previously been suggested; however, this suggestion has so far received little empirical support. Trauma and maladaptive schemas probably reinforce disintegration in FNSD. The present study explored the occurrence of maladaptive schemas and investigated the impact of trauma-related maladaptive schemas in patients with FNSD.

Forty-eight FNSD patients were assessed at the start of treatment using the Young Schema Questionnaire (YSQ-2) to explore maladaptive schemas. The Life Event Checklist (LEC-5) and the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) were used to explore trauma states, and the Sickness Impact Profile (SIP-68) was used to measure health dysfunction.

The self-sacrifice schema scored within a clinically relevant range where no increased scores were found in other maladaptive schemas. Linear regression models showed a positive association between mistrust/abuse and severity of health dysfunction.

Results suggest that maladaptive schemas play a modest role in FNSD at the start of treatment. It is suggested to examine the occurrence of maladaptive schemas in FNS-disordered patients with a longitudinal design.