1. Factitious Disorders Gordon Daichendt

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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