Body dysmorphic disorder, psychosis and insight: a report of four cases

Psychopathology
Juan Pablo LucchelliGilles Bertschy

Abstract

Body dysmorphic disorder is described in the DSM-IV as a single clinical entity, but an additional diagnosis of delusional disorder, somatic type, is allowed when the preoccupation concerning an imaginary defect in appearance is held with delusional intensity. The existence of two clinical forms is implicitly recognized, depending on the presence or absence of psychotic symptoms. Several studies have suggested that these two forms make up a single illness, characterized by different degrees of insight. This supposition is supported by the fact that the symptomatology and the clinical response to the SSRIs are thought to be similar for the two forms. Moreover, certain authors have suggested that categorical nosography (as used by the DSM-IV) should not be the point of reference and that a 'dimensional' point of view is preferable, meaning that the presence of psychotic symptoms would constitute merely a simple phenomenon or state of the same illness.

References

Nov 1, 1992·The British Journal of Psychiatry : the Journal of Mental Science·A DavidO Almeida
Aug 1, 1992·Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica·I S Marková, G E Berrios
Jan 1, 1989·The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease·J P McEvoyL Roth
Feb 1, 1993·The American Journal of Psychiatry·K A PhillipsJ I Hudson
Jun 1, 1993·The American Journal of Psychiatry·X F AmadorJ M Gorman
Mar 1, 1996·The American Journal of Psychiatry·F GattiE Smeraldi
Jul 1, 1996·Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica·G E Berrios, C S Kan
Aug 1, 1996·The British Journal of Psychiatry : the Journal of Mental Science·D VealeJ Walburn
May 1, 1994·Harvard Review of Psychiatry·S N Ghaemi, H G Pope
Jan 20, 1998·The American Journal of Psychiatry·J L EisenS A Rasmussen
May 2, 2001·The British Journal of Psychiatry : the Journal of Mental Science·D Marazziti
Apr 3, 2002·Archives of General Psychiatry·Katharine A PhillipsSteven A Rasmussen
Dec 13, 2003·Comprehensive Psychiatry·Jane L EisenSteven A Rasmussen
Dec 24, 2003·Journal of Psychiatric Research·Katharine A Phillips

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

Body Dysmorphic Disorder

Body dysmorphic disorder is an intense preoccupation with an imagined defect in ones physical appearance. It can be a severely impairing disorder and is common among patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Discover the latest research on body dysmorphic disorder here.