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How does a new therapist approach a client who is in the midst of a psychotic episode? How does a therapist reach a client who is deemed unreachable? How can therapists understand and make use of what they are feeling when interacting with someone who is attending to auditory hallucinations or who is expressing delusional thinking? How do persons who experience psychotic states and their families understand what they are going through and know how best to move forward?
Our book will address these questions and more. Psychodynamic theory is the most comprehensive theory that exists, as it takes into account the patient's developmental influences, conscious and unconscious meaning making, and adaptive efforts at survival. Psychodynamic therapy is the only approach that makes use of the critical importance of relationships—those that may have contributed to the problems as well as those that can help heal them. Rather than move quickly to eliminate symptoms, as medications and CBT techniques aim to do, we take our time to understand how a person arrived at where they are, which often means witnessing and narrating past traumas. We understand the significance of providing safety and collaboratively making meaning of each person's singular human experience. A key ingredient of the treatment is the therapeutic relationship itself.
Mental health professionals, including psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, and mental health counselors, are often discouraged with the current standard of treatment for those with serious mental illness. This book will present a perspective on psychosis in clear, accessible, jargon-free language. We intend to show the strong link between trauma (e.g., sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional/psychological abuse, neglect, parental