The Martha Mitchell Effect

February 20, 2008

Martha Mitchell effect

The Martha Mitchell effect is the process by which a psychiatrist,

psychologist, or other mental health clinician mistakes the patient's

perception of real events as delusional and misdiagnoses accordingly.

Contents

1 Description

2 Origin

3 See also

4 References

Description

According to Bell et al., " Sometimes, improbable reports are

erroneously assumed to be symptoms of mental illness, " due to

a " failure or inability to verify whether the events have actually

taken place, no matter how improbable intuitively they might appear

to the busy clinician. " [1] They note that typical examples of such

situations, may include:

Pursuit by practitioners of organized crime

Surveillance by law enforcement officers

Infidelity by a spouse

Quoting Joseph Berke, the authors note that " even paranoids have

enemies. " Any patient, they explain, can be misdiagnosed by

clinicians, especially ones with a history of paranoid delusions.

Origin

Psychologist Brendan Maher named the effect after Martha Beall

Mitchell.[2] Mrs. Mitchell was the wife of John Mitchell, Attorney-

General in the Nixon administration. When she alleged that White

House officials were engaged in illegal activities, her claims were

attributed to mental illness. Ultimately, however, the relevant facts

of the Watergate scandal vindicated her.

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