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Mummification and folie à deux.

D P Boughton¹, M K Popkin

¹Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota, St. Paul 55102.

Comprehensive Psychiatry

|January 1, 1989

Summary

Mummification, the preservation of a loved one

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Area of Science:

Psychiatry
Forensic Psychology

Background:

Mummification is a rare phenomenon involving the preservation of a deceased individual.
Limited psychiatric literature exists on the motivations and psychological underpinnings of mummification.

Observation:

A case study details a mother who preserved her deceased son's body.
The mother exhibited paranoid psychosis, suggesting a potential shared delusional system.

Findings:

The case suggests mummification can be an outcome of folie à deux, a shared psychotic disorder.
Difficulties in diagnosing paranoid disorders contribute to underdiagnosis in mummification cases.

Implications:

Mummification may stem from complex shared delusional systems.
Improved diagnostic approaches for paranoid disorders are needed in forensic contexts.