Shared Psychotic Disorder: A case of “Folie a deux” with a delusion of pregnancy

Javed Ather Siddiqui,Iman Mustafa Elhag,Yousef Bin Ahmed Shawosh,Shazia Farheen Qureshi

doi:10.30877/ijmh.6.3.2019.306-308

Abstract

Shared Psychotic Disorder: A case of “Folie a deux” with a delusion of pregnancy

Highlights

Shared psychotic disorder (PSD), known as ‘Folie A Deux’, is a rare clinical disorder which was first coined by French Psychiatrists Charles Lasegue and Jean-Pierre Falret in 1887 so it is called LasegueFalret Syndrome [1]
In our case report as reported in literature delusion developed in context of close relationship with another person, occurs within the family member majority in blood relatives, such as mother and daughter
Various studies reported that the pre-psychotic personality of the individuals affected by shared psychosis and our patient is dependent, insecure, and passive in social life

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Shared psychotic disorder (PSD), known as ‘Folie A Deux’, is a rare clinical disorder which was first coined by French Psychiatrists Charles Lasegue and Jean-Pierre Falret in 1887 so it is called LasegueFalret Syndrome [1] It has various names under umbrella of SPD such as psychosis of association, shared paranoid disorder, communicated insanity, contagious insanity, induced delusion disorder, psychosis of association, double insanity, induced insanity, insanity by association, induced psychotic disorder, folie a deux, folie a trios, folie a quatre, folie a cinq and folie a famille [2]. Like most psychiatric phenomenon SPD was the theme of a well-known movie, ‘Cries and Whispers’ [8], by Ingmar Bergman, in the movie a nurse is inexorably drawn into the psychosis of her patient Before this syndrome was assigned by a researcher, William Harvey in 1651 who described a case of ‘phantom pregnancy’ associated with folie a deux in two sisters who both believed that they could frequently feel the movement of the child as they occupied the same bed [9]. SPD treated both inducer and recipient with a psycho-pharmacological approach with antipsychotic drugs [10]

CASE REPORT

Findings

DISCUSSION