Morbid Jealousy — An Unusual Presentation with the Reciprocal Appearance of Psychopathology in Either Spouse

Abstract

This report concerns a married couple. The husband presented first to a psychiatrist with delusional jealousy. As his jealousy rapidly subsided with treatment his wife developed a florid paranoid psychosis for which she refused therapy. She then actively intervened to prevent her husband's treatment and as his jealousy returned her psychosis remitted. It is suggested that psychopathology may be more common than is suspected in the partners of jealous subjects and that on occasions one partner may be actively provoking jealous behaviour in the other.