Conversion (Functional Neurological) Disorders: An Update

Daniel Schneider, M.D. 

Associate Professor of Neurology and Psychiatry

Rutgers – Robert Wood Johnson Medical School

Known to 19th century thinkers as “hysteria,” that specific form of psychosomatic illness known today as “conversion disorder,” or “functional neurological syndrome,” has been a source of controversy within the field of medicine for centuries.  Questions such as the proper means to make a diagnosis, etiology of symptoms, patient motivations, treatment options, and even what to call the syndrome, have all been vigorously debated over the years.  This talk will make a nod to that long history, while focusing on the recent research and evolution in understanding that has occurred over the past few decades. We will learn how modern physicians make this diagnosis (hint, it is NOT a diagnosis of exclusion), what we have discovered about the brains of patients with this disorder, and current notions of “best practice” in treatment of the condition.

Bio: Dr. Schneider is a board-certified psychiatrist and neurologist with specialty training in movement disorders. He is currently an associate professor at Rutgers – Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, where he sees patients with a variety of neuropsychiatric and movement conditions. He runs the only weekly clinic for patients with conversion symptoms in the Northeast, and has worked with his department of Occupational and Physical Therapy to create a specialized program for the study and treatment of these patients. 

at the Auditorium, New York Psychoanalytic Institute,

247 East 82nd Street (between 2^ndand 3^rdAvenues) New York

 

ALL WELCOME!