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The Doppelgänger, disintegration and death: a case report

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

Lara H. Maack  and
Paul E. Mullen
Lara H. Maack
Affiliation:
Maudsley and Bethlem Royal Hospital, London
Paul E. Mullen*
Affiliation:
Maudsley and Bethlem Royal Hospital, London
*
1Address for correspondence: Professor Paul E. Mullen, Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Otago Medical School, P.O. Box 10011, Halfway Bush, Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
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Synopsis

The phenomenon of a Doppelgänger (the double autoscopy; heautoscopy) and its resolution in a psychotic patient is presented. A comparison is made between this experience and the phenomenon as it is described and defined in the literature. The themes of death and disintegration so commonly associated with the Doppelgänger in folklore and literature are highlighted by this patient's experience.

Type
Case Report
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 13 , Issue 3 , August 1983 , pp. 651 - 654
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1983

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