The Psychoanalytic Approach to the Psychoses

Opinions about the thought disorder seen in schizophrenic people cluster around two major categories. One is that the thought disorder is the result of an inherent defect in perception, conception and thought. The second category

of opinion is based on the premise that the difficulties in thinking are consequent upon developmental processes occurring in response to inhibitory pressures. This paper will be concerned with an elaboration of the latter premise. It is the main thesis of this paper that the essential problem lies in the manner of comprehending the operative principles in processes.

A process is a series of events which are related to each other through a common goal. The separate events may have an inner connection of progressivity, each step being dependent upon the occurrence of the prior one. The steps in a series may be simultaneous or consecutive in time. They may or may nor be contiguous in space. They may or may not have a reciprocal effect on one another. The essential qualities in a process are movement, evolving, continuity and interrelatedness. The events or steps in processes have varying significance in relation to the entire process and to each other. The hierarchical variation may be with respect to dispensability, or necessity; position in time; order of performance. The steps may or may not be sequential but are always consequential. One or more operative principles, evident in each process, give the cohesion, meaning and direction of each process. For purposes of study and planning, the steps in a process may be isolated and examined as though each were static and discrete. However, this does cause some distortion because it separates the steps from the unifying operative principles.

An expanding capacity for comprehending operative princples and the many varieties of them is essential to healthy human development. People grasp and remember them with or without awareness of doing so. They do this through experiencing, learning and being i