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Sleeping blood, tremor and paralysis: A trans-cultural approach to an unusual conversion reaction

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Abstract

An unusual conversion reaction and a related folk belief system are described in a Cape Verdean-American woman. A clinical approach is presented which stresses the need to negotiate between professional and popular explanatory models of illness. It is suggested that a significant factor in the successful management of this patient's symptoms was the acceptance of a mutually-understandable idiom for communication and treatment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Massachusetts General Hospital, University Hospitals of Cleveland, Cleveland, USA

    Robert Like & James Ellison

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  1. Robert Like
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  2. James Ellison
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Like, R., Ellison, J. Sleeping blood, tremor and paralysis: A trans-cultural approach to an unusual conversion reaction. Cult Med Psych 5, 49–63 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00049158

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