Shared Psychotic Disorder (Folie À Deux): A Rare Case with Dissociative Trance Disorder That Can Be Induced

Shared psychotic disorder was first introduced in the 19th century in France with the name Folie à deux. Since then, the concept of Folie à deux has been developed and produces several subtypes in France. In DSM, this disorder is called Shared Psychotic Disorder, and in ICD-10, it is called Induced Delusional Disorder. However, some of the classic subtypes of Folie à deux are not included in the above categories.

We found a case of shared psychotic disorder between a 38-year-old male inducer, a Batak tribe with two female recipients, 34 and 36 years from the Batak tribe. They were found to share the same delusions and hallucinations, and inducers could make recipients into trance conditions. These three individuals did not get along with the surrounding community and often carried out activities and perform rituals together.

Overall, our case has some unique features of folie à deux. In this case, there is a trance condition that can be induced that have not been reported in the literature or case reports related to Folie à deux.