Factitious Disorders

Gordon Daichendt

DSM IV Criteria

• The symptoms are inconsistent, changing markedly from day to day and from one hospitalization to the next

• The changes are influenced by the environment rather than by the treatment

• The patient’s symptoms are unusual or unbelievable

• The patient has a large number of symptoms that belong to several different psychiatric disorders

• The patient acts as if they have a physical or mental illness– Exaggerate symptoms– Hurt themselves to bring on symptoms– Alter tests (contaminating a urine sample)

• Not for financial gain but rather to get the care and special attention/sympathy given to people who are truly ill

Major Causes• Usually developed in early adulthood• Someone who has been hospitalized

for severe illness in themselves or others

• Long pattern of hospitalizations– Patient becomes more knowledgeable

about hospitals/medicine• Typically unaware of their reason for

doing so

Percent of Population Affected

• No reliable statistics have been collected• Patients with this disorder are usually

dishonest• Check into multiple hospital which can skew

results

Treatment Methods

• Primary treatment is psychotherapy– Type of cognitive-behavioral therapy

• There are no drugs to cure factitious disorder• Drugs might be used to treat related

psychological disorders– Anxiety– Depression– Personality Disorder

Works Cited

http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/291304-overview

http://my.clevelandclinic.org/disorders/factitious_disorders/hic_an_overview_of_factitious_disorders.aspx

http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/factitious-disorders