This paper attempts to describe some of the challenges of teaching psychiatric patients within a hospital environment. It uses post-Kleinian ideas to look at the unconscious processes at work within the learning/teaching dynamic and observes the psychotic mind's unique approach to learning. The central hypothesis of the paper is that psychoanalytic reflection of educational processes within a psychiatric institution is of clear benefit to both teacher and learner, and can also forestall several of the more problematic or even harmful outcomes of the increasing trend to ‘educate’ the patient.