Current Conceptualization and Assessment of Somatoform Disorders 

Presenter

Dr. Boone is in private practice in Torrance, California, and is a full Clinical Professor in the UCLA Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences.  She has published six books and over 120 peer-reviewed research articles, including many in the area of development and validation of tests to detect feigned cognitive symptoms.  Her most recent book, Neuropsychological Evaluation of Somatoform and Other Functional Somatic Conditions (2017), addresses the assessment of somatoform disorders from a neuropsychological perspective, and how to differentiate somatoform conditions from deliberate symptom feigning.  Dr. Boone served on the committee that developed practice guidelines for clinical neuropsychology that were subsequently published by the American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology in 2007, and she was an invited attendee of the 25-member consensus conference that developed practice guidelines for the use of neurocognitive performance validity tests, subsequently published by the American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology in 2009.  She is board certified in clinical neuropsychology (ABPP/ABCN) and is a fellow of the American Psychological Association. 

synopsis

In this workshop, available diagnostic terminology and criteria for somatoform and related disorders are summarized, as well as how somatoform characteristics and behaviors manifest in other psychiatric disorders. Current information regarding the causes of and contributors to somatoform disorders will be discussed, including early attachment ruptures, childhood abuse, environmental models, childhood illness, evolutionary processes, and comorbid personality characteristics such as lowered resilience, alexithymia, and catastrophizing. The mechanism by which parents may provoke somatoform disorders in children (somatization by proxy) will also be covered. The types of claimed disorders in which somatoform presentations may be found will be described, including postconcussion syndrome, multiple chemical sensitivity, nonepileptic seizures, chronic pain/fibromyalgia, adult ADHD, chronic fatigue syndrome, and autoimmune disorders. The roles of other- versus self-deception processes in somatoform disorder, factitious disorder, and malingering will be discussed, including how to use psychometric methods (personality inventories and neurocognitive performance validity measures) to differentiate between conscious versus nonconscious symptom feigning/exaggeration. Current data on brain imaging findings in somatoform conditions versus deliberate feigning will also be summarized. Sample cases involving somatoform disorder, factitious disorder, and/or malingering will be presented.

learning objectives

1. To be knowledgeable regarding the various diagnostic terms and criteria for somatoform disorders
2. To be able to identify at least three predisposing factors in the development of somatoform disorders.
3. To be knowledgeable regarding how neurocognitive performance validity tests and personality inventories can be used to differentiate between somatoform and deliberate feigning.

Course Schedule

8:00 – Registration & Breakfast
9:00 – Workshop begins
10:30 – Break
12:00 – Luncheon (served on-site)
13:00 – Workshop continues
14:30 – Break
16:00 – Concluding remarks