Hysterical Psychosis: Clarification of the Concept
STEVEN J. HIRSCH M.D.1, and
MARC H. HOLLENDER M.D.2
1 Director, outpatient services, Northern Virginia Mental Health Institute
2 Professor, department of psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, 916 Gates Pavilion, Philadelphia, Pa. 19104
Rather than being the end product of a single process, hysterical psychosis may result from three different processes. To sharpen the focus on this often elusive entity, the authors discuss the three processes—culturally sanctioned behavior, appropriation of psychotic behavior, and true psychosis—and consider their relationship to each other and to the clinical categories of conversion reaction and hysterical personality.
