Am J Psychiatry 1989; 146:1261-1266
Copyright © 1989 by American Psychiatric Association
Erotomania revisited: from Kraepelin to DSM-III-R
JH Segal
Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston.
Erotomania, the persistent delusion of being loved from afar by another
person, has defied easy categorization for years. Kraepelin and de
Clerambault both discussed the syndrome in detail, but it has recently
appeared officially for the first time, in DSM-III-R, as a subtype of
delusional (paranoid) disorder, in a return to the original Kraepelinian
formulation. The author reviews the history, theories of etiology, course,
and treatment of erotomania. He concludes that the DSM-III-R classification
is correct and that neuroleptics and enforced separation, although only
moderately effective, are the best treatments for troublesome cases.
