A Fundamental Guide To Factitious Disorder

Professional Treatment Options

Factitious disorder is hard for doctors to treat, given their patients want to be sick and receive care for those illnesses, and not for the underlying condition causing them to do those things. Due to this, doctors and loved ones must tread carefully when trying to get someone treatment for factitious disorder. This may mean taking a softer approach and not directly accusing them of making things up. It also implies treatment for factitious disorder will shift on a case by case basis.

With this in mind, however, some of the typical treatment strategies for factitious disorder include having one primary doctor oversee and manage the individual’s treatment plan, including reducing visits to other medical professionals such as surgeons and specialists. In many instances, psychotherapy will play a role in treating factitious disorder to help the individual develop coping mechanisms instead of succumbing to the desire to be ill and inflicting pain. Psychotherapy will also address any other potential mental illnesses the patient may have, such as depression or personality disorders. Medication may also be required to treat these additional mental illnesses. In the most severe cases of factitious disorder, a hospital stay in the psychiatric ward may be necessary for the patient's safety and to kickstart treatment.

Lifestyle Treatment Options

Although it will be quite challenging to do, there are some lifestyle adjustments individuals with factitious disorder can make to help their treatment progress. This includes sticking to the treatment plan their doctor gives them, being honest with care providers about the urge to become ill or self-harm, maintaining just one primary doctor who manages all aspects of treatment and confiding with someone outside of the medical profession about the situation. Patients must also remember the very real risk of permanent injury and death if they continue engaging in this type of behavior.

In cases of factitious disorder by proxy, particularly when it is a parent/child relationship, it may be prudent to relinquish the primary caregiving role over the individual at risk while undergoing treatment. In the long run, though difficult to deal with, it will be well worth it.