Patient or Pretender: Inside the Strange World of Factitious Disorders

by Marc D. Feldman, Charles V. Ford, Toni Reinhold

As children, most of us played sick at one time or another to get our parents' sympathy and attention. In Patient or Pretender, psychiatrists Marc Feldman and Charles Ford take us into the strange world of people who take the game of playing sick to pathological, sometimes fatal, extremes. Driven by the need for attention, these people manufacture physical and psychological symptoms, often injuring themselves to get medical treatment. And, in the process, these "great pretenders" mislead and victimize their families and friends, baffle physicians, and wantonly consume precious medical resources. Meet Jenny, the secretary who feigned breast cancer and went so far as to shave her head, lose weight, and even join a cancer support group. Then there is the mother who suffocated her own child so she could play the role of martyred parent. These compelling case studies read like medical detective stories, as doctors try to separate fact from fiction and explore the real causes of their patients' illnesses. Along the way, Drs. Feldman and Ford offer us insights, not only into the workings of desperate minds, but the human condition in general.

Genres: Nonfiction, Psychology, Medicine

228 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1993

About the author

Dr. Feldman is Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Adjunct Professor of Psychology at the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa. A Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, Dr. Feldman is an international expert in factitious disorders, including Munchausen Syndrome and Munchausen by Proxy, as well as another form of medical deception known as Malingering. He is the author of five books, more than one hundred peer-reviewed articles, and has appeared as an expert in dozens of television programs, print media, and documentaries throughout the world. He has served as an expert consultant and/or expert witness in cases nationally and internationally.

Reviews

[Jeannie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating subject matter and case studies, but little in the way of clinical solutions.

[Renae · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating, particularly as the audience was clearly meant to be the medical community, and I still found it hard to put down.

[Jenna_readit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating case studies - the things humans will do just amazes me 😳

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting read, smacks of reminders of some patients I've had the 'pleasure' of taking care of during my career so far.

I find it hard to find sympathy for some of the cases that were put forth in the book, just like I find it hard to dredge up sympathy when I meet these people face to face at work. At least, it's hard to feel the same amount of compassion that I do for the truly, physically ill patient a room away from them (say, someone suffering from end-stage COPD, or a patient and family dealing with terminal cancer). Thus, why I don't want to go into the psych field; everyone finds their niche, and that's definitely not mine (no matter how fascinating I think it is).

Also, I had never really considered the ramifications that these patients 'adventures' present on a grand scale; costs incurred, both monetary and emotional, being the main two.