Take Care of Münchausen Syndrome, by Proxy

What the case of Maya Kowolski can teach us about the lies we tell ourselves.

The Frontier Psychiatrists is a daily health-related newsletter. It’s written by Owen Muir, M.D. This past week, in Florida, a rare condition made headlines after a Netflix Documentary— “Take Care of Maya” — made exactly the wrong points about a complex condition, and a jury awarded a ton of money to the family, leaving years of appeals, recriminations, and a family bereft in its wake. A very brief synopsis of the case:

In October 2022, The Cut published “What Happened to Maya,” which follows Maya Kowalski, a 10-year-old girl who went to the emergency room complaining of mysterious, excruciating pain. Her story became the basis of the Netflix documentary, Take Care of Maya. On November 9, 2023, after suing Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg for more than $200 million — alleging false imprisonment, medical negligence, battery, fraud, and intentional infliction of emotional distress, among other harms — a Florida jury awarded Maya’s family $211 million.

If you enjo…