Functional dysphagia: Developing a framework for assessment and treatment.

Area of Science:

• Multidisciplinary approach to swallowing disorders.
• Integration of psychological and medical perspectives in healthcare.

Background:

• Functional dysphagia presents complex challenges affecting physical health and overall wellbeing.
• Current understanding often relies on a predominant medical model, potentially overlooking crucial psychosocial factors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a novel framework for understanding and managing functional dysphagia.
• To integrate psychosocial aspects into the assessment and treatment of functional dysphagia.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive literature review on functional dysphagia assessment and treatment approaches.
• Presentation of an exemplar case series involving six clients.
• Exploration of insights from laryngology and cognitive/behavioral psychology.

Main Results:

• Client presentations for functional dysphagia are diverse.
• Targeted therapy, guided by a biopsychosocial framework, can facilitate a relatively rapid return to normal eating for many individuals.
• The proposed framework enables thorough assessment and tailored interventions.

Conclusions:

• Advocates for adopting a broader biopsychosocial framework in dysphagia practice to prevent "diagnosis by exclusion."
• Suggests clinicians can develop effective therapy programs by leveraging knowledge from laryngology and psychology.
• The developed biopsychosocial framework serves as a practical guide for clinicians in the field.