Patient or Pretender: Inside the Strange World of Factitious Disorders

by Marc D. Feldman, Charles V. Ford

Recounts the case histories of factitious disorder patients who make themselves ill as a way of gaining emotional fulfillment and recognition. They take playing sick to pathological extremes, profoundly affecting their lives as well as the lives of those who support them. In these pages, readers will find a group of cases so bizarre that they challenge the imagination and, at times, medical knowledge.

Genres: Nonfiction, Psychology, Medicine

228 pages, Hardcover

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.