Shared psychotic disorder - a case study of folie à famille

Folie à famille is a rare form of shared psychotic disorder. It is defined as the transfer of delusions from one person to another.

This paper presents a case of shared psychotic disorder in two brothers, aged 16 and 17 and their mother who were admitted on the same day at the Clinic for psychiatry. The inducer was a mother, suffering from schizophrenia. She transferred her delusions to her sons. Both boys produced mostly the same paranoid delusions, that the others have been recording and monitoring them since their father died. After few days, the older boy, who had more severe psychotic symptoms, was treated with aripiprazole, while both received anxiolytics in low dosage.

We observed a withdrawal of psychotic psychopathology in both kids. Genetic burden, social isolation and strong emotional connection of family members are factors that have contributed to the development of shared psychotic disorder in this case.

The new approach of treatment for induced psychosis includes not only separation from the primary case, but also specific pharmacotherapy. It is necessary to think about this clinical entity, because this delusional disorder needs specific treatment, with better prognostic outcomes.