In his later seminars, Lacan puts forward the suggestion that the laws of “Language” and the “Name of the Father” may be the neurotic solution to questions of existence and identity. In contrast, he suggests, the solution of the psychotic (or the artist) may be more idiosyncratic. Using the case of a young man who began to lose his mind in the process of trying to overthrow the Law of his father and install his own sense of values, I will consider two concepts: (1) ways in which what might appear to be a psychotic diathesis is instead a turbulent struggle to establish and maintain an autonomous identity; and (2) the role of the psychoanalyst in establishing an environment in which that important work might be accomplished.