Vexatious litigants and unusually persistent complainants and petitioners: from querulous paranoia to querulous behaviour

Abstract

Querulous paranoia was once of considerable clinical and academic interest in psychiatry. Over the last 40 years, however, it has virtually disappeared from the professional landscape. This decline occurred at the very time that a proliferation of complaint organizations and agencies of accountability were drawing more and more people into asserting their individual rights through the pursuit of claims and grievances. Querulous behaviour, as a result, far from declining, is on the increase, bringing with it suffering for the querulous and disruption to the organizations through which they seek their vision of justice. This article examines querulous behaviour in the vexatious litigant and in abnormally persistent complainants and petitioners. The phenomenological and nosological issues are outlined and the risks of the emergence of threatening and violent behaviour is emphasized. Threats should not be ignored, for a variety of reasons. Approaches to managing querulous behaviour in the courts and the complaint organizations are discussed, together with the utility of individual therapy. Querulous behaviour should once more take its place among the legitimate concerns of mental health professionals. Those caught up in a querulous pursuit of their notion of justice are amenable to management that can ameliorate their suffering and reduce the disruption they create.

Are you looking at me? Understanding and managing paranoid personality disorder

“…Such scenarios may confirm the person's suspicions and exacerbate their isolation -a self-fulfilling prophecy termed 'reciprocal determinism' (Haynes 1986). This dynamic can be seen in querulant, persistent complainers, who become increasingly unreasonable in their dealings with organisations and generally elicit progressively more hostile and negative treatment from those in authority (Mullen 2006). Persistent social withdrawal disrupts social feed-…”

“…As well as violence, paranoid personality features have been associated with other problem behaviours, including stalking (Mullen 2000), the uttering of threats (MacDonald 1963) and abnormal complaining behaviours (Mullen 2006).…”

Civil Claimant Embitterment: Five Case Studies Exploring Clinical Presentation and Management

“…Opportunities to complain and assert individual's rights through the pursuit of claims and grievances although part and parcel of a customer responsive culture can also reinforce the 'querulous' behaviour of vexatious litigants and unusually persistent complaints [3].…”

“…The anomalies found frequently in written communications from the 'queruious' are shown in below Table 1. Table 1 Anomalies in written communications [3]. Five case studies are presented which reflect, on the one hand, three clinical presentations of anger and blame of increasing severity and two studies of intervention.…”

“…The cognitive style of the querulous is that of seeking confirmation of their viewpoint [3], rejecting or minimizing all counter-examples. Cognitive distortions include the following:…”