[Diagnosis and treatment of conversion symptoms in the 1960s in Amsterdam].

Background: According to Piet Kuiper, professor of psychiatry, conversion phenomena are more common in films and novels in Amsterdam in the 1960s than in outpatient clinics.

Aim: To find out whether the neurologist Waterman has observed conversion phenomena in the 1960s; how he made this diagnosis, and what therapy did he use?

Method: Research of Waterman’s patient files from the 1960s in Amsterdam.

Results: In a group of 3372 patients, Waterman diagnosed hysterical or psychogenic neurological symptoms in 555 (16%) patients. Of these patients, 6.85% was eligible for psychoanalytic therapy. Waterman treated 54.95% of these patients with benzodiazepines and 25.77% with tricyclic antidepressants.

Conclusion: In the 1960s, Waterman cannot refer 93% of his patients for psychoanalytic therapy, which according to Kuiper is necessary for the diagnosis and therapy of conversion disorder. This explains why the psychoanalyst Kuiper hardly sees patients with conversion symptoms. Waterman opts for symptomatic therapy for psychogenic neurological symptoms. He treats 4 out of 5 of his patients with pharmaceuticals. The beneficial effect he has observed may be a result of removing the concern about the symptoms by prescribing medication.