ABSTRACT
Factitious Disorder with psychological signs and symptoms may be defined as a mental disorder in which the patient feigns psychiatric symptoms for the sole purpose of playing the sick role and receiving attention through treatment. Here, the patient may also visit emergency rooms seeking admission to psychiatric units and go from one mental health professional to another, presenting with symptoms of depression, psychosis, mania, amnesia, disorientation, transient loss of personal identity, and others. Typically, the symptoms are worse when the patient is being observed by the staff. Often, the history is inconsistent, and the patient may not be able to respond to detailed examination appropriately. Usually, the symptoms reported by the patient represent his or her concept of mental illness and may not conform to any specific disorder as it is known to mental health professionals. Patients often consent to serious treatments, such as ECT and the administration of antipsychotic drugs (DSM-IV, 1994) .
