Biomaterial Database

Dysesthesia, witchcraft, and conversion reaction. A case successfully treated with psychotherapy. 1978

J R Hillard, and W J Rockwell

An intelligent, well-educated black woman from the rural South, through an interaction of psychopathology and cultural background, experienced dysesthesia as a conversion reaction and came to believe that she was the victim of witchcraft. After neurological evaluation showed no abnormalities, she was successfully treated with conventional psychotherapy. Belief in hexing or root work is still alive today and should be inquired about in patients with unusual symptoms and an appropriate cultural background.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D006987	Hypesthesia	Absent or reduced sensitivity to cutaneous stimulation.	Hypesthesia, Tactile,Hypesthesia, Thermal,Hypoesthesia,Numbness,Impaired Sensation,Reduced Sensation,Hypesthesias,Hypesthesias, Tactile,Hypesthesias, Thermal,Hypoesthesias,Impaired Sensations,Reduced Sensations,Sensation, Impaired,Sensation, Reduced,Sensations, Impaired,Sensations, Reduced,Tactile Hypesthesia,Tactile Hypesthesias,Thermal Hypesthesia,Thermal Hypesthesias
D008273	Magic	Beliefs and practices concerned with producing desired results through supernatural forces or agents as with the manipulation of fetishes or rituals.	Magics
D008519	Medicine, Traditional	Systems of medicine based on cultural beliefs and practices handed down from generation to generation. The concept includes mystical and magical rituals (SPIRITUAL THERAPIES); PHYTOTHERAPY; and other treatments which may not be explained by modern medicine.	Ethnomedicine,Folk Medicine,Folk Remedies,Home Remedies,Medicine, Folk,Medicine, Indigenous,Medicine, Primitive,Indigenous Medicine,Primitive Medicine,Traditional Medicine,Folk Remedy,Home Remedy,Remedies, Folk,Remedies, Home,Remedy, Folk,Remedy, Home
D008875	Middle Aged	An adult aged 45 - 64 years.	Middle Age
D009657	North Carolina	State bounded on the north by Virginia, on the east and Southeast by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by Georgia and South Carolina, and on the west by Tennessee.
D011615	Psychotherapy, Group	A form of therapy in which two or more patients participate under the guidance of one or more psychotherapists for the purpose of treating emotional disturbances, social maladjustments, and psychotic states.	Group Therapy,Group Psychotherapy,Therapy, Group
D001741	Black or African American	A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa (https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/1997/10/30/97-28653/revisions-to-the-standards-for-the classification-of-federal-data-on-race-and-ethnicity). In the United States it is used for classification of federal government data on race and ethnicity. Race and ethnicity terms are self-identified social construct and may include terms outdated and offensive in MeSH to assist users who are interested in retrieving comprehensive search results for studies such as in longitudinal studies.	African American,African Americans,African-American,Afro-American,Afro-Americans,Black Americans,Blacks,Negroes,African-Americans,Negro,Afro American,Afro Americans,American, African,American, Black,Black American
D003291	Conversion Disorder	A disorder whose predominant feature is a loss or alteration in physical functioning that suggests a physical disorder but that is actually a direct expression of a psychological conflict or need.	Astasia-Abasia,Conversion Neurosis,Functional Movement Disorder,Functional Neurological Disorder,Hysteria, Conversion,Conversion Reaction,Astasia Abasia,Conversion Disorders,Conversion Hysteria,Conversion Neuroses,Disorder, Functional Movement,Disorder, Functional Neurological,Functional Movement Disorders,Functional Neurological Disorders,Movement Disorder, Functional,Movement Disorders, Functional,Neurological Disorder, Functional,Neurological Disorders, Functional,Neuroses, Conversion,Neurosis, Conversion
D003469	Culture	A collective expression for all behavior patterns acquired and socially transmitted through symbols. Culture includes customs, traditions, and language.	Cultural Relativism,Customs,Beliefs,Cultural Background,Background, Cultural,Backgrounds, Cultural,Belief,Cultural Backgrounds,Cultural Relativisms,Cultures,Relativism, Cultural,Relativisms, Cultural
D005260	Female		Females