This book offers a comprehensive, detailed examination of MBPS. Written by leading authorities, it covers all known clinical, medical, psychological, social and legal aspects of the disorder, including detection, dynamics, treatment, and clinical management. Based on their own experiences evaluating and treating these patients, the authors present an innovative theory of the disorder as a form of imposturing. Detailed psychological test data on a group of MBPS mothers are presented for the first time to enhance our understanding of the cognitive and psychological makeup of parents who fabricate illness in their children. The text also contains a thoughtful discussion of the larger social context of women in our society and in our medical institutions--a discussion crucial to our understanding of why MBPS is predominantly a disorder of women.

This important book reviews the current state of knowledge of Munchausen''s syndrome by proxy, a type of child abuse which causes wide concern. Two main areas are covered, which will be of particular interest: new directions in research, and treatment of the perpetrator in and outside the family. The book also considers the ethical and legal issues raised by this problematic behaviour, which involves many different types of professionals and has a heavy cost not only for services but also for victims and perpetrators. Unlike other books, this volume provides a multidisciplinary perspective, with input from social workers, paediatricians, child-psychiatrists and lawyers, among others. It also offers an international perspective, with contributors from the USA, Canada and Australia. Contents: A 20-Year Overview (A Bentovim); International Perspectives on Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy (R Brown & M D Feldman); Child Abuse Specific to the Medical System (J Jureidini & T Donald); The Extraordinary Case of Mrs H (E V Welldon); Munchausen''s Syndrome by Proxy: A Perspective from Primary Care (M J Bannon & Y H Carter); The Presentation and Natural History of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy (M C B Plunkett & D P Southall); The Detection of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy (M P Samuels); Assessment of Abusing Families (D P H Jones & C Newbold); The Role of the Guardian Ad Litem (S Pizzey); The Social Work Role in Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy (J Gray); Munchausen''s Syndrome by Proxy OCo The Legal Perspective (D Taylor & M Nicholls); Risk Assessment (M Eminson); Treatment of Perpetrators (K Bluglass); Treatment and Outcome for Victims (I Mitchell); Ethical and Public Policy Issues in the Management of Munchausen''s Syndrome by Proxy (MSBP) (G Adshead); Current Challenges in the Management of Perpetrators (D Brooke & G Adshead); New Directions in Research and Service Development (C Bools). Readership: Paediatricians, psychiatrists, nurses and social workers."

Thomas A. Roesler, MD, FAAP and Carole Jenny, MD, MBA, FAAP make the case that the term Munchausen syndrome by proxy should be retired permanently and replaced with a commonsense appreciation that children can be abused by their parents in the medical environment. Physicians who find themselves providing unnecessary and harmful medical care can see the abuse for what it is, another way parents can harm children. the book offers the first detailed and comprehensive description of treatment for this form of child maltreatment.

A dark, shocking, bestselling thriller debut about a mother and daughter—and the lengths to which a daughter will go to find independence. “Nobody wants to hear the truth from a liar.” For the first eighteen years of her life, Rose Gold Watts believed she was seriously ill. She was allergic to everything, used a wheelchair, and practically lived at the hospital. Neighbors did all they could, holding fundraisers and offering shoulders to cry on, but no matter how many doctors, tests, or surgeries, no one could figure out what was wrong with her. Turns out her mom, Patty Watts, was just a really good liar. After serving five years in prison, Patty gets out with nowhere to go and begs her daughter to take her in. The entire community is shocked when Rose Gold says yes. Patty insists all she wants is to reconcile their differences. She says she’s forgiven Rose Gold for turning her in and testifying against her. But Rose Gold knows her mother. Patty Watts always settles a score. Unfortunately for Patty, Rose Gold is no longer her weak little darling… And she’s waited such a long time for her mother to come home.

Most of us can recall a time when we pretended to be sick to reap the benefits that go along with illness. By playing sick, we gained sympathy, care, and attention, and were excused from our responsibilities. Though doing so on occasion is considered normal, there are those who carry their deceptions to the extreme. In this book, Dr. Marc Feldman describes people’s strange motivations to fabricate or induce illness or injury to satisfy deep emotional needs. Doctors, family members, and friends are lured into a costly, frustrating, and potentially deadly web of deceit. From the mother who shaves her child’s head and tells her community he has cancer, to the co-worker who suffers from a string of incomprehensible "tragedies," to the false epilepsy victim who monopolizes her online support group, "disease forgery" is ever-present in the media and in many people’s lives. In Dying to be Ill: True Stories of Medical Deception, Dr. Feldman, with the assistance of Gregory Yates, has chronicled this fascinating world as well as the paths to healing. With insight developed from 25 years of hands-on experience, Dying to be Ill is sure to stand as a classic in the field.

Get a quick, expert overview of complex childhood psychiatric disorders from Drs. David I. Driver and Shari Thomas of Healthy Foundations Group. This practical resource presents a summary of today's current knowledge and best approaches to topics from gender dysphoria to childhood onset schizophrenia and other complex psychiatric disorders. - Comprehensive guide for any professional working with children. - Consolidates today's evidence-based information on complex childhood psychiatric disorders into one convenient resource. - Provides must-know information on evaluation and management. - Covers a range of psychiatric disorders of children including drug-induced mania and psychosis, concussions, ADHD, technology addiction, sleep disorders, and eating disorders.

First Conquer Thyself: Socialization of violence and abuse is often highly structured through the Munchausen Complex. Munchausen Syndrome occurs when an individual harms themselves for attention and self-glorification. Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy is when an individual harms another, usually under their care. Attention and self-glorification are achieved through their victim's subsequent medical treatment. Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy is a crime with a victim. Violence and abuse are often common in families, passed down from one generation to the next and may be termed Transgenerational Munchausen Syndrome as these families expand and their habits are introduced into society. Munchausen Syndrome in Collective Transmission occurs when such practices become an acceptable part of society often eventuating into full acculturation. In this way societies attach themselves to self-glorification with various explanations of justification. A Mandated Report is required to be filed by health care, legal, social service and educational professionals who suspect child abuse, as well as developers of film. As socialized beings, we are often unaware why we think what we think and why we do what we do. Exploring beneath the surface, we may discover we are not who we imagine we are. Are our subtle perversions and aberrations so different from those of the ancients, or other cultures we label primitive? The author was under military orders not to discuss the subjects presented in this part's Mandated Report on child abuse to the social body for the last six years of his U.S. Navy career. Censorship is strong when one questions social norms, folkways and rituals that address issues of identity. Internal, interpersonal and professional conflicts arise.