“This brilliant and beautifully written book invokes a radical reorientation of the treatment of psychosis” Juliet Flower MacCannell, Author of Figuring Lacan and The Hysteric’s Guide to the Future Female Subject. “Bret Fimiani's book offers an illuminating presentation of the Lacanian approach to psychosis thanks to his clear style which presents Lacanian concepts with a wonderful accuracy, illustrated by examples from his psychoanalytic practice. The dynamic of his investigation challenges the fear of psychosis with testimonies of lived experiences, the Hearing Voices Network, and analysts who claim the unclaimed intelligence at work in psychosis." Francoise Davoine, co-author of History Beyond Trauma This book advances a theory of transference-in-psychosis with the aim of provoking a change in the way the experience of psychosis is understood and thus, clinically treated. It examines the function of ‘ethics’ in the ‘installation’ of transference in the treatment of psychosis and contends that the aim of the psychoanalytic experience is the creation of a new ethic for the analysand and for the treatment. Beginning from the premise that the body of the psychotic is a site of social contestation, the author draws upon the work of Freud, Lacan, Deleuze & Guattari and Apollon to reframe the problem of the ‘body’ (as an effect of language) and its relation to transference, and ethics, in treating psychosis. It argues that psychosis still has much to teach psychoanalysis about how psychoanalysis must continue to change in order to create/offer an approach that is effective for psychosis (versus neurosis) and provides a comprehensive psychoanalytic theory of psychosis that derives, at its core, from the experience of psychosis itself. The book’s synthesis of clinical and ‘peer model’ principles will provide readers with a way to understand and navigate potential transference impasses often encountered with purely clinical approaches. In doing so it provides a valuable new framework for practitioners and scholars working in clinical psychology, psychoanalysis, philosophy, critical theory, psychiatry and social work.

This book shows how psychological and social interventions can help people with psychosis. It brings together both theoretical chapters that contribute to the reconceptualization of psychosis and clinical cases illustrating how contemporary psychotherapeutic intervention models can be applied in the treatment of this mental health condition, with reflections, strategies and practical guidelines demonstrating how these models can inform professional practice in mental healthcare. Chapters brought together in this volume aim to reflect a paradigm shift in psychosis care. They present person-centered models that lead to a way of seeing, understanding and treating psychosis that is very different from the traditional biomedical model. Current authors and approaches are revolutionizing an outdated model trapped in purely pharmacological actions and tautological explanations of a biological nature, where symptom control is the basic and fundamental form of approach, and in which psychotherapeutic actions take second place as subsidiary to the former. Approaches such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Acceptance and Recovery Therapy by Levels, Open Dialogue, Compassion-Centered Therapy or the Hearing Voices movement, to name but a few of those presented in this book, represent a journey of self-knowledge and learning for those recovering from psychosis, and have an intense transformative potential for the therapeutic team. The fundamental principle that guides this book is to share models belonging to psychology that aim at personal development while respecting the needs, values and goals of each person, and that can be adopted by any professional or student of clinical psychology, psychiatry, nursing, social work or any other discipline searching for more humanistic approaches to treat psychosis.

From a psychiatric perspective, psychosis is generally viewed as a psychopathological and often incomprehensible mental disorder of biological cause. In his book, Brian Spittles argues that this represents a rather limited view, and that a psychospiritual investigation of psychosis may enable a better understanding of its nature and determinants. His aim is not to negate the discipline of psychiatry, but to demonstrate the viability and efficacy of incorporating psychospiritual considerations into psychosis research. Within these pages, Spittles challenges several core psychiatric beliefs, and calls for the discipline to extend its investigative parameters beyond the limited epistemological bounds of materialism. The book uses an open-ended heuristic approach that enables the systematic examination and critical appraisal of views on psychosis across the materialist-to-metaphysical spectrum. This is structured in four 'Focal Settings' that sequentially examine the construal of psychosis within different paradigms of psychospiritual understanding, which provide a historical overview of evolving understandings of psychosis within the tradition of psychiatry, in which psychospiritual matters are generally not considered.

This book offers a practitioner's guide to evidence-based practice in working with psychotic patients in an outpatient setting by clinicians and scholars who are internationally recognized for their work in treating severe psychopathology. Topics cover conceptual, technical, and practical considerations in the parameters of working with adult and adolescent populations that exhibit thought disorder, delusions, hallucinations, borderline organizations, trauma, and schizoid phenomena. Different theoretical models are presented from psychoanalytic traditions that introduce the student and practitioner to eclectic ways of conceptualizing and treating these challenging clinical groups. Concrete approaches to establishing a proper treatment environment, working alliance, symptom management, managing countertransference, and facilitating a therapeutic framework are provided. Various psychodynamic techniques are demonstrated by master clinicians through the extensive use of clinical case material culled from outpatient settings that illustrate how psychoanalytic perspectives enrich our understanding of the psychotic spectrum and lead to therapeutic efficacy.

The Editors have a good reputation in this field. The book also has a good line-up of contributors. Provides a new approach to understanding the experience of psychosis that will have implications for clinicians, patients and researchers.

This book offers a clinical guide that brings together a broad range of brief interventions and their applications in treating psychosis. It describes two core approaches that can narrow the current, substantial gap between the need for psychotherapeutic interventions for all individuals suffering from psychosis, and the limited mental health resources available. The first approach involves utilizing the standard therapeutic modalities in the context of routine clinical interactions after adapting them into brief and effective formats. To that end, the book brings in experts on various psychotherapeutic modalities, who discuss how their particular modality could be adapted to more effectively fit into the existing system of care delivery. The second approach, addressed in detail, is to extend the availability of these brief interventions by utilizing the circle of providers as well as the social circle of the clients so that these interventions can be provided in a coordinated and complementary manner by psychiatrists, psychologists, clinical social workers, case managers, peer support specialists and other providers on the one hand, and by family members, friends, social and religious institutions on the other.

An invaluable sourcebook on the complex relationship between psychosis, trauma, and dissociation, thoroughly revised and updated This revised and updated second edition of Psychosis, Trauma and Dissociation offers an important resource that takes a wide-ranging and in-depth look at the multifaceted relationship between trauma, dissociation and psychosis. The editors – leaders in their field – have drawn together more than fifty noted experts from around the world, to canvas the relevant literature from historical, conceptual, empirical and clinical perspectives. The result documents the impressive gains made over the past ten years in understanding multiple aspects of the interface between trauma, dissociation and psychosis. The historical/conceptual section clarifies the meaning of the terms dissociation, trauma and psychosis, proposes dissociation as central to the historical concepts of schizophrenia and borderline personality disorder, and considers unique development perspectives on delusions and the onset of schizophrenia. The empirical section of the text compares and contrasts psychotic and dissociative disorders from a wide range of perspectives, including phenomenology, childhood trauma, and memory and cognitive disturbances, whilst the clinical section focuses on the assessment, differential diagnosis and treatment of these disorders, along with proposals for new and novel hybrid disorders. This important resource: • Offers extensive updated coverage of the field, from all relevant perspectives • Brings together in one text contributions from scholars and clinicians working in diverse geographical and theoretical areas • Helps define and bring cohesion to this new and important field • Features nine new chapters on: conceptions of trauma, dissociation and psychosis, PTSD with psychotic features, delusions and memory, trauma treatment of psychotic symptoms, and differences between the diagnostic groups on hypnotizability, memory disturbances, brain imaging, auditory verbal hallucinations and psychological testing Written for clinicians, researchers and academics in the areas of trauma, child abuse, dissociation and psychosis, but relevant for psychiatrists, psychologists and psychotherapists working in any area, the revised second edition of Psychosis, Trauma and Dissociation makes an invaluable contribution to this important evolving field.

Multiple voices throughout the last century have preached the merits of various treatments for schizophrenia, ranging from cold baths to the currently accepted standards such as neuroleptic medication. Along with these ongoing treatments, there have been quiet commentaries, made mostly from the sidelines, suggesting the need to shift and refocus the way we think and talk about schizophrenia. Harry Stack Sullivan noted in 1927 that, 'The psychiatrist sees too many end states and deals professionally with too few of the pre psychotic" (Sullivan 192711994, p. 135). Similar thoughts have been echoed by purveyors of modem treatment for psychosis such as Thomas H. McGlashan: "Like others before me, I tried to make a difference . . . but like the others my efforts were largely in vain. I came upon the scene too late; most of the damage was already done" (McGlashan, 1996). Similar interest in the early phase of schizophrenia has developed across the globe and consolidated into a tentative, yet meaningful deliberation about the potential for prevention of psychotic illness through early identification and intervention. In the past decade, international support has grown from: Ian Falloon's prodromal intervention project in Great Britain (Falloon et aI. , 1996); Patrick McGorry's and Jane Edward's first episode psychosis program in Melbourne, Australia (McGorry et al.

Psychosis has been the central subject of psychiatric research for more than a century and yet it remains an intriguing enigma. This volume reviews the current status of research on psychosis in three different aspects, namely, phenomenology, which is the philosophical/conceptual basis of psychosis; psychopathology, which is the clinical manifestations of psychosis; and pathophysiology, which is the scientific pursuit for the mechanism of psychosis. Chapters focus on schizophrenia, covering such topics as clinical staging, negative symptoms, epigenetics, DNA methyltransferases, and more.

First Published in 2007. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.