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Suicide Pact in a Setting of Folie à Deux

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

Mohamed Ali Salih
Mohamed Ali Salih*
Affiliation:
Whitecroft Hospital, Sandy Lane, Newport, Isle of Wight, PO30 3ED
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Summary

A case of folie à deux affecting two women friends who presented as a suicide pact is described. The shared delusion was based on their life situation and experiences. Social intervention and obtaining employment led to marked attenuation of the delusion in both partners simultaneously and while in close contact. Review of the relevant literature revealed striking theoretical similarities between folie à deux and suicidal pacts suggesting the ease with which the former could become the foundation for the latter.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 139 , Issue 1 , July 1981 , pp. 62 - 67
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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