Folie a deux is

Shared psychotic disorder or folie a deux, the characteristic feature is the transmission of delusions from "inducer" (primary patient), who is the "originally" ill patient and suffers from a psychotic disorder to another person who may share the inducer's delusions in entirety or in pa. the person who receives the delusion is usually financially dependent on the inducer person the person who receives the delusion is intellectually less normal and tend to beleive everything that the inducer person tells. both the person who induces and receives the delusion live in close proximity they live in social isolation with less contact with the outside world as they remain together delusion system perpetutes. treament of choice for such patients is seperation of the receiver of delusion from the inducer and the symptom of delusion reduces. Depending on whether the delusions are shared among two, three, four, five and even twelve people, it is called as folie a deux, folie a trios, folie a quatre, folie a cinq and folie a douze. Shared psychotic disorder is mostly observed among people who live in close proximity and in close relationships. Reference: Kaplon and sadock, 11 th edition, synopsis of psychiatry, 11 th edition, pg no. 390