Arizona Mother Accused of Poisoning Baby; May Be Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy

Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy is often incorrectly referred to as a psychiatric disorder, said Dr. Marc Feldman, a psychiatrist at the University of Alabama who wrote "Playing Sick? Untangling the Web of Munchausen Syndrome, Munchausen by Proxy, Malingering, and Factitious Disorder." "It is not a mental illness," Feldman said. "It is a form of abuse, just like sexual abuse, physical abuse and emotional abuse — it's just a variant." [At first I thought, whatttaya mean 'not a mental illness'?! This must mean, MbP describes behavior, the cause of which may or may not be mental illness. Like stealing may be plain theft or kleptomania.]