Behavioural treatment of a food refusal conversion disorder in a mentally retarded adult.

A 31-year-old woman with mental retardation who demonstrated total food refusal as the symptom of a conversion disorder was successfully treated with behavioural management techniques. The treatment utilized a shaping paradigm combined with relaxation procedures. The results supported the hypothesis that conversion disorder symptoms are maintained through their consequences, and the efficacy of behavioural treatments for those disorders.