Psychoanalysis Meets Psychosis proposes a major revision of the psychoanalytic theory of the most severe mental illnesses including schizophrenia. Freud believed that psychosis is the consequence of a biologically determined inability to attain and sustain a normal or neurotic mental organization. Michael Robbins proposes instead that psychosis is the outcome of a different developmental pathway. Conscious mind functions in two qualitatively different ways, primordial conscious mentation and reflective representational thought, and psychosis is the result of persistence of a primordial mental process, which is adaptive in infancy, in later situations in which it is neither appropriate nor adaptive. In Part I Robbins describes how the medical model of psychosis underlies the current approach of both psychiatry and psychoanalysis, despite the fact that neuroscience has failed to confirm the model’s basic organic assumption. In Part II Robbins examines two of Freud’s models of psychosis that are based on the assumption of a constitutional inability to develop a normal or neurotic mind. The theories of succeeding generations of analysts have for the most part reiterated the biases of Freud’s two models, so that psychoanalysis considers the psychoses beyond its scope. In Part III Robbins proposes that the psychoses are the result of disturbances in the attachment-separation phase of development, leading to maladaptive persistence of a primordial form of mental activity related to Freud’s primary process. Finally, in Part IV Robbins describes a psychoanalytic approach to treatment based on his model. The book is richly illustrated with material from Robbins’ clinical practice. Psychoanalysis Meets Psychosis has the potential to undo centuries of alienation between society and psychotic persons. The book offers an understanding of severe mental illness that will be novel and inspiring not only to psychoanalysts but to all mental health professionals.

Do psychotic disorders make sense? Are psychotic symptoms amenable to interpretation? Understanding Psychosis: A Psychoanalytic Approach takes the various pathways to psychotic illness outlined by psychoanalytic clinicians and scholars and integrates them into a model that allows a systematic assessment of relevant psychodynamic dimensions in the diagnosis of psychotic disorders, and which serves as a guide to psychotherapy with psychotically ill patients. Joachim Küchenhoff reviews and integrates various psychoanalytic concepts and theories about psychosis into a multi-dimensional psychodynamic model that allows an assessment and understanding of the patient’s subjective experience, objective psychological capabilities, and interpersonal resources. Küchenhoff helps the therapist to establish a basic attitude in working psychodynamically with patients and to understand the dynamics of the therapeutic relationship. Understanding Psychosis also addresses specific issues that can arise in work with clients experiencing psychosis, including understanding imminent crises or precursor states, elucidating semiotic qualities in seemingly negative symptoms, differentiating the psychotic and a non-psychotic part of the personality and providing a dynamic approach to the psychopharmacological treatment. Clinical vignettes and three detailed case reports are included in the book. Understanding Psychosis will be an essential guide for psychiatrists, psychotherapists and psychoanalysts working with patients experiencing psychosis. It will also be of use to psychologists, and academics and students of psychotherapy, psychiatry and psychoanalysis for psychosis.

Since Freud’s first mention of object relations in his seminal paper Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality, analysts have been arguing about its role in the psychological development and mental life of individuals. Essential Papers on Object Relations gathers together the critical papers by major figures in the field. Reflecting the changes and conflicts over the past hundred years, the volume includes the work of key scholars as they attempt to define, delineate, and describe object relations theory. It includes work by: Sigmund Freud, Melanie Klein, Arnold H. Modell, W. R. D. Fairbairn, Jacob A. Arlow, Annie Reich, John Bowlby, Margaret S. Mahler, Harry Guntrip, D. W. Winnicott, Joseph Sandler and Anne-Marie Sandler, Otto Kernberg, T. F. Main, Edith Jacobson, and Hans W. Loewald. The book, which includes explanatory introductions to each part, is an invaluable resource for those seeking a thorough examination of object relations theory and the classical and contemporary work of major analytic thinkers. y.

This is the first book of its kind that attempts to distill Lacan’s views on psychosis for both a specialized and non-specialized audience. An attempt is made to present Lacan’s unorganized theories to apply to conceptual paradigms in psychoanalysis and the humanities as well as applied clinical practice. This effort is in the spirit of fostering dialogue and educating different theoretical orientations within psychoanalysis on what Lacan and his followers have contributed to emerging contemporary perspectives on psychotic phenomena in both normative and pathological populations. Within Lacanian circles there is debate over what constitutes psychosis, including defining the ordinary from pathological variants that have historically defined the phenomena as a mental illness. Here psychosis is not defined by hegemonic authoritarian psychiatry, but rather as a conceptual framework or philosophical perspective supported by descriptive narrative and symptomatic phenomenology that challenges preconceived notions of what we typically consider psychosis to entail. In this book a variety of perspectives are presented by internationally respected scholars and clinicians who examine what Lacan had to say about psychosis, from his nuanced theories represented in select texts, including omissions, extrapolations, and new applications, as well as how clinical methodology and technique have been adapted and advanced by practitioners treating psychotic individuals. Lacan on Psychosis will be of interest to academics, scholars, researchers, and practitioners in the fields of psychoanalysis, psychotherapy, philosophy, cultural theory, the humanities, and the behavioral sciences.

Psychoanalysis of the Psychoses brings together a distinguished international set of contributors, offering a range of views and approaches, to explore the latest thinking in the psychoanalytic treatment of psychosis and related disorders. Drawing on findings from neuroscience, theory and clinical material from many schools of psychoanalytic thought, this book offers a comprehensive guide to understanding how psychosis is conceptualised from a psychoanalytic perspective. It looks at how to work with psychotic patients, typical problems in treating psychosis and the role of pharmacology. It demonstrates the relational dimension, capable of strengthening the patient’s observing Ego and facilitating the integration of the different areas of the personality. This process can identify and work through the main psychological stress factors involved in psychotic disturbances, transforming chaotic thoughts into springboards for important insights, and offering patients the precious chance to construct for the first time a creative relationship with their own existence. Psychoanalysis of the Psychoses will be of great interest to psychoanalysts and psychoanalytic psychotherapists as well as psychiatrists wishing to draw upon psychoanalytic ideas in their work.

In this innovative book, master clinician Michael Garrett shows how to weave together cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and psychodynamic therapy to support the recovery of persons suffering from psychosis. This integrated framework builds on the strengths of both methods to achieve lasting gains, even for patients with severe, chronic mental illness. The therapist is guided to use CBT to help the patient recognize the literal falsity of delusions, while employing psychodynamic strategies to explore the figurative truth and personal meaning of psychotic symptoms. Extended case presentations and numerous clinical vignettes illustrate Garrett’s compassionate, empowering approach. Winner (Second Place)--American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year Award, Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing Category

On Freud’s “Neurosis and Psychosis” and “The Loss of Reality in Neurosis and Psychosis” explores these two key papers on the topics of psychosis and neurosis and their relationship to the unconscious and to reality. The contributors to this book approach these texts from both a historical and a contemporary point of view, highlighting their fundamental contributions and comparing Freud’s thoughts with modern psychoanalytic theory. The chapters demonstrate the ongoing richness of Freud’s work and his legacy by highlighting new ideas and developments and include both clinical vignettes and theoretical insight. The contributors also raise questions that deserve further study, about the understanding and treatment of psychosis in children, distinctions and similarities between autism and psychosis, and the way in which aspects of our rapidly changing world – social media, climate change, AI - influence the evolution of psychotic states. On Freud’s “Neurosis and Psychosis” and “The Loss of Reality in Neurosis and Psychosis” will be essential reading for psychoanalysts and psychoanalytically oriented clinicians in practice and in training. It will also be of interest to academics and scholars of psychoanalytic studies and to readers interested in how modern clinicians interpret Freud’s work.