What is Capgras Syndrome? Diagnosis and Treatment Approach

Abstract

Capgras delusion is a complex psychopathological phenomenon that presents in a wide range of psychiatric and neurological disorders with differing patterns dependent on the main etiology. An underlying neurological disease should be suspected where the delusion concerns a spouse or inanimate objects and is associated with visual hallucinations, while a functional disorder is suggested by multiple imposters, strangers, additional delusions, and auditory hallucinations. Misidentifications in Capgras syndrome (CS) are fixed false beliefs and, therefore, represent true delusions. Even if when patients are confronted over and over with the illogical nature of the delusion, they keep their beliefs. Surprisingly, patients may show implicit or explicit awareness of their true situation. Some research suggests that a considerable number of patients with CS have some awareness of the bizarre nature of the misidentification delusions and therefore tend not to report them, especially during initial interviews when they are less likely to be confident with the clinician. Specific questions and interventions may assist clinicians in successfully identifying patients with CS. In a series of interviews with these patients, some focus on identifying CS, rather than a single interview which is likely to increase the detection of the delusional misidentification. The clinician should always be mindful of the risk of aggression and homicide in CS.

Belief in Jinn Possession Scale: Development and validation

“…This phenomenon is prevalent in several developing countries, particularly in Asia and Africa as a component of religious and healing rituals and as a form of affliction (Pietkiewicz et al, 2020(Pietkiewicz et al, , 2021. However, it is not only common in Asian cultures but also in European-American cultures (Koc & Hocaoglu, 2020;Van Duijl et al, 2010). As a matter of fact, in a worldwide survey of 488 societies, 437 (90%) had at least 1 altered state of consciousness in their culturally structured form, and in 252 societies, such incidents were ascribed to possession (Bourguignon as cited in Al-Adawi et al, 2019).…”

“…In certain instances, possession phenomena have been colloquially referred to as a form of delusion of possession (Pietkiewicz et al, 2021). Possession has also been substantially considered in the literature in association with culture-specific syndrome (Zulfiqar et al, 2019), conversion disorder (Irmak, 2014), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and trauma (Herath & Perera, 2020), panic disorder (Bragazzi & Del Puente, 2012), depression (Marshal, 2017), capgras syndrome (Koc & Hocaoglu, 2020), mania (Khan & Sanober, 2016), somatoform disorders (Pietkiewicz et al, 2022b), and suicidal ideations (Scripcaru et al, 2017). Because of the existing link between mental health and possession, it is critical to investigate all aspects of possession.…”