342: FND Is Treatable: Diagnosis, Buy-In, and Real Recovery with Heather Mowry, PT, DPT, NCS, and Staci Shearin, PT, PhD, NCS, GCS
Nov 02, 2026What do you do when a patient's symptoms don't fit any picture you've seen in years of neuro practice, and they've spent years hearing that nothing is wrong? In this episode, host Erin Gallardo, PT, DPT, NCS, talks with Heather Mowry, PT, DPT, NCS, and Staci Shearin, PT, PhD, NCS, GCS, of UT Southwestern Medical Center about functional neurological disorder (FND) and how rehab clinicians can help patients move from confusion and medical trauma toward meaningful function. Heather and Staci describe how they helped build UT Southwestern's multidisciplinary functional movement disorder program. They cover the clinical clues that point toward a functional presentation, such as symptoms that vary within a single session and change with diverted attention, and why a confident diagnosis and genuine patient buy-in are the foundation of successful rehab. They walk through real treatment examples, from an external-focus gait strategy that stopped a patient's buckling within one session, to mirror feedback, TENS, contract-relax, grounding, and playful dual- and triple-tasking for tremor. They also explain why sleep and general wellness are the low-hanging fruit so many overlook. You'll also hear how to build a care team when your clinic doesn't have one, how to set early expectations for whether rehab is the right fit right now, why pausing therapy is sometimes the most helpful choice, and the patient and clinician resources they rely on most, including neurosymptoms.org, FND Hope, and the work of Glenn Nielsen.
https://fndhope.org/fnd-guide/
https://www.neurosymptoms.org/en/
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4602268/ PT consensus article
https://jnnp.bmj.com/content/91/10/1037 OT consensus article
