What Is Munchausen Syndrome By Proxy?

How does a mother’s love turn into an obsession? Who will believe that a mother will harm their own child? Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy can be the answer to both of these questions. Munchausen Syndrome is a mental disorder that causes a person with a deep-seated need for attention to fake sickness or injury. Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy (MSP), also called pediatric symptom falsification or factitious disorder imposed on another, is a disorder in which the caretaker of a child either makes up fake symptoms or causes real symptoms to make it appear as though the child is injured or ill (Pietrangelo, 2016). The term “by proxy” essentially means “authority or power to act for another.” And although it is primarily a mental illness, it is also a
The medical profession has since borrowed his name to describe a group of individuals whose complaints are fabricated, but so convincing that patients are put through needless medical testing, hospitalizations, and even surgeries. British physician Richard Asher, who first described Munchausen Syndrome in 1951, noted that “the most remarkable feature of the syndrome is the apparent senselessness of it. Becoming a patient is the purpose of the syndrome (Criddle, 2010).” In 1977, Meadow first described cases in which the apparent symptoms of Munchausen Syndrome were instead projected onto a dependent child, which coined the term Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy, and the diagnosis entered medical
And, if so, why is it important to recognize it as one, and what is the potential for treatment? There is felt to be a specific association between borderline personality disorder and Munchausen by Proxy. Personality disorder is associated with a significant failure of interpersonal functioning which can be assumed to have a negative effect on good enough care-giving i.e. parenting (Adshead and Bluglass, 2005). The most common psychiatric disorders include depression or some form of personality disorder, whilst 22% had or claimed a personal history of abuse, either in childhood or in a partner relationship (Bradley & Halder, 2012). Is there a treatment that can help treat the mental illness that is linked to MSBP? Discussion of "treatment" tends to put the focus on the perpetrator, while the concept of case management provides caregivers with an alternative to being a professional participant in the syndrome. When all is said and done, however, these families remain exceedingly difficult and stressful to manage (Rand,