ICD-10

While waiting for ICD-11, most of the world, including US Doctors, use ICD-10 for diagnosis codes. It is F24. It can be used by any medical doctor or mental health professional today.

This page is copy/paste reblogging of a portion of from Dr. Childress' blog article entitled really bad clinical psychology.

From the American Psychiatric Association: “Usually the primary case in Shared Psychotic Disorder is dominant in the relationship and gradually imposes the delusional system on the more passive and initially healthy second person.”

So, who is “dominant” in this case? A: The allied and supposedly “favored” parent.

And did the child’s persecutory delusion toward the targeted parent develop gradually over time? A: Yes.

So this would seemingly indicate that the allied and supposedly “favored” parent is the “inducer” and the child is “the more passive and initially healthy second person.”

From the American Psychiatric Association: “Individuals who come to share delusional beliefs are often related by blood or marriage and have lived together for a long time, sometimes in relative isolation.”

Are the child and the allied parent “related by blood”? A: Yes.

Have they “lived together for a long time?” A: Yes.

So far the pathology fits perfectly.

From the American Psychiatric Association: “If the relationship with the primary case is interrupted, the delusional beliefs of the other individual usually diminish or disappear.”

Oh wow, here we’re getting some potentially useful treatment recommendations. If we separate the child from the pathology of the parent, the child’s encapsulated persecutory delusion regarding the targeted parent will “diminish or disappear.” Good to know, don’t ya think?

From the American Psychiatric Association: “Although most commonly seen in relationships of only two people, Shared Psychotic Disorder can occur in larger number of individuals, especially in family situations in which the parent is the primary case and the children, sometimes to varying degrees, adopt the parent’s delusional beliefs.” (p. 333)

“…especially in family situations in which the parent is the primary case and the children, sometimes to varying degrees, adopt the parent’s delusional beliefs.”

Wow. Sounds pretty much like an exact fit to me.

Does the American Psychiatric Association have anything to say about the course of a shared delusional belief? Why yes they do.

From the American Psychiatric Association: “Without intervention, the course is usually chronic, because this disorder most commonly occurs in relationships that are long-standing and resistant to change.”

Pretty spot on, don’t ya think? Does the American Psychiatric Association have anything to say about treatment? Whaddya know, yes they do.

From the American Psychiatric Association: “With separation from the primary case, the individual’s delusional beliefs disappear, sometimes quickly and sometimes quite slowly.” (p. 333)

Well, there ya go… “With separation from the primary case, the individual’s delusional beliefs disappear…”

So, according the the American Psychiatric Association, the child’s persecutory delusional beliefs that the child is being somehow “victimized” by the normal-range parenting of the targeted parent will “disappear” with the child’s “separation” from the “inducer” of the allied and supposedly “favored” parent.

Wow. From the American Psychiatric Association. Shared delusional pathology fits exactly. Seriously, I can’t imagine a more perfect diagnostic fit. With treatment recommendations even. American Psychiatric Association… the child’s symptomatic rejection of the targeted parent will “disappear” with the child’s “separation” from the allied parent. Wow. There ya go.

In DSM-5, shared delusional order was lumped into just delusional disorder, just for purposes of simplification.