Treating the 'Untreatable': Healing in the Realms of Madness

by Ira Steinman

Overview

Treating the 'Untreatable' offers the hope of recovery, healing and cure for the most severe psychotic disturbances, schizophrenia and delusional disorder. Through a psychotherapeutic exploration of hallucinations, delusions and thought disorder, even the most hopeless and "untreatable" patients have a chance for returning to a life of relationships and function even after years, if not decades, of disturbance. These studies in the intensive psychotherapy of schizophrenia and delusional disorders demonstrate that recovery, healing and cure can be achieved in those most disturbed. In this era of treating schizophrenic and delusional patients with a primarily antipsychotic drug oriented approach, a more thorough exploration of the meaning to the patient of his psychosis - with judicious antipsychotic use, when indicated - leads to internal character and external behavioral change that is far more lasting than with antipsychotic use alone. With such a psychodynamic approach, some of these previously chaotic, disturbed and heavily medicated people were able to understand the symbolism and the origin of their psychotic productions and go off antipsychotic medication altogether.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781855756809
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	02/25/2009
Pages:	226
Product dimensions:	5.75(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

Table of Contents

Preface — Delusional reality — The psychotherapy of delusional states — Causes of a delusional orientation — The method — The history of the psychotherapy of schizophrenia and delusional states — Psychotherapeutic technique and stages in the psychotherapy — Apologia and clinical presentation — The Good Angel, the Bad Devil, the Smiling Man's Voice, and Mother-God — The pugilist, Mary, and the mother with the fiery halo — Two rats and the extraterrestrial — The ghost in the history — Stalemate — Maya, Little, and the world of illusion — Death, Egyptian style — Nobody — The voice didn't win — The world-class artist of the symbolic world: the Mafia, the movie stars and the "Unconscious God" — Can anyone that evil ever really die? — The cheerleader — Thoughts, lessons and conclusions — Long-term studies on schizophernia — Brief review of the history of psychoanalytic perspectives on schizophrenia