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Abstract
Folie á deux is a condition in which the same psychiatric symptoms, often delusions, occur in two closely associated people. A recent systematic review questions the aetiology of the condition and suggests that it may not be as rare as previously believed. Mark Greener reports. Copyright © 2007 Wiley Interface Ltd
... In current nosology, "shared psychosis," much like "narcissism" (as opposed to "narcissistic personality disorder"), is a psychosocial phenomenon rather than a diagnosis, which is not as rare as previously believed (Greener 2007). "Shared psychotic disorder" as an individual diagnosis appeared in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) (APA 1994), but has B. X. Lee been replaced by "induced delusional disorder" for both the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) (APA 2013a) and the International Classification of Diseases, Eleventh Revision (ICD-11) (World Health Organization 2019). ...
In 2017, as soon as Donald Trump took the US presidency, a group of distinguished psychiatrists mobilized in the USA to warn that psychological dangers in an influential office would result in social, cultural, and geopolitical dangers—years later, their warnings prove to be prescient. The spectacular rise of a psychologically dangerous figure, as well as many like him throughout the world, cannot be fully explained without examination of the concept of contagion that results in shared psychosis. This paper outlines the phenomenological manifestations and the conditions for the spread of a shared psychosis, or folie à millions, and how they apply to national and international politics in an era when dangerous, mentally impaired leaders are posing a public mental health risk. The importance of a robust psychological discourse and public education about psychodynamics at play in larger society, in the midst of a collective mental health crisis, is emphasized.
Folie à Deux is a rare syndrome that has attracted much clinical attention. There is increasing doubt over the essence of the condition and the validity of the original description, such that it remains an elusive entity difficult to define.
We conducted a systematic review of the literature of all cases reporting the phenomenon of Folie à Deux, from the years 1993-2005.
64 cases were identified of which 42 met the inclusion criteria. The diagnoses in the primary and secondary were more heterogeneous than current diagnostic criteria suggest. There exists a high degree of similarity between the primary and secondary in terms of susceptibility to psychiatric illness, family and past psychiatric history, than previously thought.
Folie à Deux can occur in many situations outside the confines of the current classification systems and is not as rare as believed, and should alert the clinician to unrecognized psychiatric problems in the secondary.
Folie à deux (FAD) was first described in 19th century France. Since then, the concept has been elaborated, and several subtypes of FAD have been successively reported in France. In contrast, studies in German-speaking psychiatry mainly focused on the conceptual boundary between reactive/endogenous psychosis and etiological hypothesis (ie, psychogenesis vs genetic predisposition). In North America, Gralnick wrote a seminal review and redefined four subtypes of FAD by adopting the European classical concepts. More recently, "shared psychotic disorder" in DSM or "induced delusional disorder" in ICD-10 was branched off from FAD. However, several classical subcategories of FAD were not included in these recent definitions, the nosological significance of which should not be underestimated. We examined demographic data of FAD case reports published from the 19th to the 21st century and found that some of the earlier hypotheses, such as females being more susceptible, older and more intelligent individuals being more likely to be inducers, and sister-sister pairs being the most common relationship, were not supported. The controversial issue of the etiology of FAD-association of subjects or genetically driven psychosis-was re-examined in light of recent studies.
The nosological significance of folie a deux: a review of the literature doi: 10.1186/1744-859X-5-11 www.annals-general-psychiatry
- D Amone
- A Patel
- Gm Tan
Amone D, Patel A,Tan GM.The nosological significance of folie a deux:
a review of the literature. Ann Gen Psychiatry 2006;5:11 doi:
10.1186/1744-859X-5-11
www.annals-general-psychiatry.com/content/5/1/11