La Belle Indifference

[rasheed]

This is a buzzword for the diagnosis of conversion disorder. The phrase in French means the indifferent girl. It means that the patient (usually a young female) is not concerned at all with her physical illness despite the seriousness of the issue such as paralysis or blindness. It was originally coined by Sigmund Freud.

Despite the fact that several studies have found no specificity or sensitivity for La Belle Indifference in the diagnosis of conversion disorder, psychiatrists and board question makers still bring it as a hint.

As we said before they may not specifically mention "La Belle Indifference" in the question stem but they may describe it.