In a pavilion for long term psychiatric therapy, we saw an epidemie of selfmutilations in a group of female psychopaths.
Concentration of them on the closed ward, resulted in a deterioration of the ward's atmosphere. In this epidemie played both imitation of automutilation and competition a role in getting attention. A decrease of the number of selfmutilations was made possible through diposal of the patients over 3 wardl. Also was helpful the assessment of stringent indication for transfer of patients from the open to the closed ward. This epidemie was also illustrative for the undesirability of the simultaneousness of change in therapeutic philosophy and of staffmutation.