Abstract

Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) is a common and complex condition, with a heterogeneous presentation of motor, sensory and cognitive symptoms. FND often results in significant physical disability, poor psychological wellbeing, and poor quality-of-life. A growing evidence base has been developing on the effectiveness of psychological therapy (PT) for people with FND. The present systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to understand the effectiveness of PT on psychological wellbeing and quality-of-life in people with FND, building on existing reviews to update and strengthen the knowledge base.A systematic search was performed on four electronic databases to identify research studies evaluating 1:1 outpatient PT for FND, published after 2013. Sixteen studies were included in the systematic review, with seven included in a meta-analysis. Random effects meta-analyses indicated significant improvements in depression, anxiety, quality-of-life, health and social functioning, psychological distress, and symptom severity. Some of the studies identified the effects were maintained at 12-months, with reductions in healthcare utilisation identified and maintained for at least 3 years post-treatment. The overall positive impact of PT is encouraging and tentatively supports the delivery of PT for FND, invites further development of the evidence-base, and suggests the commissioning of more psychological services is needed.

Awarding Institution(s)

University of Plymouth

Supervisor

Nicholas Troop, Sarah Baldrey

Keywords

Functional neurological disorder, Psychological therapy, Meta-analysis, Systematic Review, Psychological wellbeing, Quality of life

Document Type

Thesis

Publication Date

2024

Embargo Period

2025-09-05

Deposit Date

September 2024

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

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