Week 2 Discussion

Somatic symptom disorder has a long history. Sigmund Freud described a case of Anna, who displayed several physical conditions (e.g., pain, dizziness, numbness, and visual disturbances) with no apparent medical cause. Also, schizophrenia is not actually one single disorder but a spectrum of disorders that fall along a continuum of symptoms and functioning levels.

  • Describe somatic symptom disorder, and if the disorder can be diagnosed if the person has an actual physical illness.
  • Describe the basic criteria for schizophrenia based on the current DSM criteria. Explain the differences between negative and positive symptoms.
  • Explain the prognosis of an individual diagnosed with schizophrenia based on age and gender factors.

**make sure to cite your sources in your work and provide references for those citations utilizing 7th edition APA format. no plagiarism