Nada Okasha
East London Foundation Trust and private practise in London, United KingdomPresentation Title:
Two case studies: Medically unexplained symptoms in children and adolescents
Abstract
It is approximated that 10-30% of children globally experience persistent medically unexplained symptoms (MUS), which are physical sensations that, upon medical testing, cannot be explained by any organic physical cause. The most common MUS in children are headaches and abdominal pain (World Health Organisation, 1997). MUS are often perceived as a ‘mystery’ due to there being no directly observable physical abnormality in the body. Therefore, children who present with MUS are often stigmatised, or made to feel as though their symptoms are ingenuine or ‘imagined’. Since mostly medical testing is used, rather than psychological assessment, MUS often remain misunderstood, creating further barriers to treatment. When left untreated, MUS can develop into more complex conditions such as functional neurological disorder, irritable bowel syndrome, and fibromyalgia. It is important to increase the public’s understanding of MUS as a preventative measure to support an appropriate response to children who present with early-onset or subclinical physical symptoms. My presentation will feature some examples of the most complex MUS presentations in children I have treated, as well as detailed discussion of the evidence-based approaches I used. Finally, I will discuss ways to support the advancement of healthcare systems in identifying, treating, and signposting children who present with MUS.
Biography
Nada Okasha is a health/medical psychologist with specialism in child and adolescent development. Nada has 7 years of experience of carrying out in-depth assessments and delivering evidence-based interventions to children and young people (CYP) struggling with severe and complex mental health difficulties. Nada has also set up her own private practise in 2023, offering therapy to CYP and their families. Nada has extensive training in the diagnosis and treatment of neuro-developmental conditions such as autism, ADHD, specific learning difficulties, as well as global developmental delay. Nada has a special interest in the development of complex psychosomatic symptoms in CYP with mental health difficulties.
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