Psychosis (a Contemporary Introduction)

Psychosis: A Contemporary Introduction offers an in-depth exploration of psychosis from a psychoanalytic perspective, combining historical developments, clinical reflections and the author’s extensive original research.

Psychosis: A Contemporary Introduction offers an in-depth exploration of psychosis from a psychoanalytic perspective, combining historical developments, clinical reflections, and the author’s extensive original research.

Franco De Masi outlines the history of psychoanalytic approaches to the treatment and understanding of psychosis, focusing on symptoms such as delusion, hallucination, psychotic dreams, the collapse of symbolization, and sensory withdrawal. Addressing the challenges often encountered in clinical work, De Masi explores analytic tools that may support psychotic patients, particularly where traditional approaches grounded in the dynamic unconscious might have failed. He discusses the therapeutic setting, looking at pharmacological support as well as the temporal dimension and quality of interpretative work.

Written in a clear and accessible style, this volume serves as an ideal introduction for those approaching psychosis for the first time, both clinically and theoretically, as well as for those seeking contemporary and innovative perspectives on the subject. It is a valuable resource for psychoanalysts, psychotherapists, psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, and researchers.

Series Editor''s Preface; Premise PART 1: Psychotic illness Introduction 1. Delusion 2. Hallucinations 3. Psychotic and non-psychotic part of personality 4. The invasive power of psychosis 5. The meaning of psychotic dreams 6. Psychic retreat 7. Sensory experience and psychosis 8. Loss of symbolic order PART 2: Problems in therapy 9. The setting 10. Difficulty in therapy 11. How and whether to interpret 12. The psychotic superego 13. A long analytic therapy 14. Beyond symptoms

Franco De Masi is a training and supervising analyst based in Milan, Italy. He is the author of Vulnerability to Psychosis (2012), A Psychoanalytic Approach to Treating Psychosis (2020), and Beyond the Dynamic Unconscious (2025).