In this episode of The Personality Couch Podcast, we (licensed clinical psychologists Doc Bok and Doc Fish) unpack how paranoia, paranoid personalities, and psychotic disorders overlap. We explore the line between personality disorders and psychosis; misuse of the term schizophrenia; and introduce the concept of paraphrenia as it relates to psychosis in the paranoid personality. We also explore the historical context of paranoia, the nuances between paranoia and delusions, and how the terms became so intertwined in history. We end with our own unfiltered thoughts about limitations to DSM diagnostic categories and how paranoia became so confusing!

Are you a clinician stuck on a case? To schedule a consultation, please visit the practice website, which will guide you to the email address to use. https://www.questpsych.org/

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Paranoia and Psychosis

02:14 Defining Paranoia

03:15 Sociocultural Paranoia: The Salem Witch Trials

04:22 How Paranoia Leads to Psychosis: A Train Metaphor

06:51 Defining Delusions

    08:21 Persecutory Delusions

    08:55 Delusions of Grandeur

    09:32 Jealous Delusions

    10:01 Erotomanic Delusions

12:01 When Paranoia Becomes a Diagnosis

13:14 Paranoia in Personality Disorders

14:34 Wait- Paranoid Schizophrenia is NOT a Diagnosis?!

16:03 Defining Paraphrenia

16:43 Defining Schizophrenia

17:54 How is Paranoid Personality Disorder Different from Schizophrenia?

22:50 The Difference Between Schizophrenia and Paraphrenia

23:11 Confusion in Definitions and DSM Limitations

27:24 Closing