Studying Lived Experiences of Psychologists and Psychiatrists to Treat and Diagnose Conversion Disorder: An in-depth Analysis

Abstract

The current research study was aimed at exploring the lived experiences of the Psychologists and Psychiatrists currently practicing in hospitals of Islamabad and Rawalpindi and private clinics in the field of Psychiatry and dealing with clients diagnosed with Conversion Disorder (CD). Semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect data. Ten participants were interviewed and were taken from hospitals of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. The Interpretative phenomenological approach (IPA) was used for data analysis. The major identified super-ordinate themes from interviews of Psychologists are: Diagnostic complications, Therapeutic failures obstacles, Therapeutic procedures and the superordinate themes identified from Psychiatrists interviews are: Assessment measures, Challenges in treatment, Treatment strategies. The current study highlighted the need for raising awareness about the significance of creating a special rehabilitation facility in hospitals for CD clients where the client’s physical, emotional, and social needs are taken into consideration.