Abstract

Since its first description in 1863, ‘hebephrenia’ has highlighted a group of patients characterised by an early onset of illness, formal thought disorder, bizarre behaviour and incongruent emotional expression.

A proportion of patients with the most severe form of mental illness have a clinical presentation that is best captured by this diagnosis.

Here, we outline the construct of hebephrenia and two of its core overlapping constituent parts: bizarre behaviour and the disorganisation dimension.

We argue that, despite the removal of hebephrenia (disorganised schizophrenia) from DSM-5, clinicians should consider it as a differential diagnosis, particularly in suspected personality disorder.

Citations

Alvaro Barrera, Owen Curwell-Parry and Marie-Claire Raphael. Hebephrenia is dead, long live hebephrenia, or why Hecker and Chaslin were on to something. BJPsych Advances Early View. 3 May 2019

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1192/bja.2019.24

URI: https://www.oxfordhealth.nhs.uk/orka/title/hebephrenia-is-dead-long-live-hebephrenia-or-why-hecker-and-chaslin-were-on-to-something/