hometherapies psychotherapyneuroses

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The two main diagnostic headings of functional neuroses are:

• Hysterical reactions
• Obsessive compulsive reactions

Hysterical Reactions

The definition of a hysterical reaction represents the attempt on the part of the client, never fully conscious and frequently unconscious; to obtain relief from otherwise intolerable stress, by the exhibition and experience of symptoms of illness.

The environmental contribution of a hysterical reaction may be drawn from:

• Emotional stress or conflict, otherwise unmanageable, arising from the life situation of the client.
• The direct effect upon the clients overall resilience and equilibrium of structural disease or damage to the brain.
• The indirect effect upon the clients equilibrium and resilience of structural damage or disease to any part of the body.
• Psychotic illness whether imminent or present but inadequately treated or contained.

Symptom production in hysterical reactions rest upon the normal capacity of human beings to form concepts with an emotional significance and imaginative elaboration; reacting to these concepts and related associations as if real. The symptoms appearing to be produced by a disassociation of normal mental health processes whereby:

• Certain concepts
• Specific patterns of activity
• Related associations

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Affecting the clients well-being are separated from conscious awareness and relegated to the unconscious area of mental life.

The simplest forms of hysterical reaction can involve both physical and psychological symptoms. The loss or distortion of normal motor or sensory functioning are involved. Sometimes this may manifest itself as

• Distortion of vision
• Deafness
• Anaesthesia
• Paralysis
• Ranging degrees of reflex motor disturbances may occur

These symptoms can be categorised as being primarily physical, however psychological symptoms such as:

• Loss or disturbance of consciousness or memory (amnesia).
• Hysterical hallucinations
• Disturbances of behaviour.

Often the symptoms will be moulded from the precipitating stress.

Treatment of hysterical reactions would involve:

• Attention to the underlying and provocative stress, whether in the clients life situation, history of recent illness or injury, or current structural disorder.
• Supportive and interpretive individual psychotherapy.
• Following elucidation of the situation, regarding (a) and (b) above. Hypnosis for specific reversal of symptoms or other methods involving controlled suggestion can be implemented.

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Obsessive Compulsive Disorders.

Obsessive compulsive reactions can be defined as mental experiences, ideas, images, impulses or patterns of behaviour in which a subjective sense of compulsion is opposed by an equal objective, conscious and deliberate resistance.

The capacity to develop an obsessional pre-occupation is perfectly normal, as long as it doesn’t reach an extent that it becomes recognisable as an illness. Such as a tune repeated in ones head or a senseless idea which recurs repeatedly.

Obsessive compulsive reactions as an illness has a strong constitutional basis, which is to some extent hereditary. This can lead to a specific vulnerability in the development of the pattern of mental activity. The hereditary factor can also produce an environmental contribution i.e. a genetic parent influencing the client in early life by example.

Treatment of obsessive compulsive reactions can include:

• Psychotherapy: which in this disorder is more successful in children or in the disorders early development. Behaviour therapy in the form of flooding (overwhelming the client with the stress factors which he agrees to accept as a means of escaping from their appalling threat to him). It is essential that their comprehension should be complete and their whole-hearted agreement obtained.
• Symptomatic medicinal treatment can be introduced in the form of tranquillising medicines i.e. chlordiazepoxide – Librium. The clients G.P. and the therapist would need to liase appropriately.

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