Description
Book SynopsisBreaking through Schizophrenia builds on the ideas of Jacques Lacan who argued that schizophrenia is a deficient relationship to language, in particular the difficulty to master the metaphoric dimension of language, which children acquire by the Oedipal restructuring of the psyche. This book is thus a countercultural move to present a less damaging view and a more efficient treatment method for schizophrenic persons. Through a collection of published and unpublished articles, Ver Eecke traces the path of Lacanian thought. He discusses the importance of language for the development of human beings and examines the effectiveness of talk therapy through case studies with schizophrenic persons.
Trade ReviewThis is a very impressive work by Wilfied Ver Eecke, bringing together important studies that witness to the worth of a philosophical approach to psychosis and schizophrenia. Ver Eecke is an honored expert on Lacan and a respected interpreter of Hegel and the relevance of his thought to the psychoanalytic situation. Mental illness is seen in developmental terms and not just in terms of genetic or organic factors. We are offered a positive and hopeful orientation to the power of the word in alleviating the distress of the patient. With a significant stress on language, he makes a deft use of Hegel to provide added heft to the themes. The results are very engaging and illuminating, and the voice of Ver Eecke is not only superbly competent in an academic sense but wise in a humane sense. -- William Desmond, David Cook Chair in Philosophy, Villanova University; Thomas A.F. Kelly Visiting Chair in Philosophy, Maynooth University, Ireland; and professor of philosophy emeritus, Institute of Philosophy, KU Leuven, Belgium
Renowned Lacanian psychoanalyst Wilfried Ver Eecke brings together for the first time a collection of his seminal contributions to the talk psychotherapy of schizophrenic patients. Building on the successful treatment methods of psychologists Karon, Vergote, Villemoes, and Prouty, Ver Eecke provides a therapeutic blueprint that offers hope to patients and their families. This book will prove to be an invaluable guide for all mental health clinicians who wish to obtain the best possible outcomes for their patients who suffer and struggle with schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders. -- Gerald P. Perman, M.D., president, The American Academy of Psychodynamic Psychiatry and Psychoanalysis; clinical professor in Psychiatry and the Behavioral Sciences, The George Washington University Medical Center; member, The Lacanian Forum of Washington, D.C.
Lacan's insights into schizophrenia were continually reworked and developed throughout his many years of teaching. This book revisits the core of Lacan's formidable approach to treating schizophrenia by linking Lacan's thought to a wider field of psychoanalytic approaches and methodologies. Ver Eecke also brings his many years of Hegel scholarship and experience as a Lacanian psychoanalyst to bear on the challenge of treating schizophrenia. This book is a treasure for analysts, philosophers, and those in the wider field of mental health. -- Daniel Tutt, PhD, professor of philosophy, Marymount University, and member, D.C. Lacanian Forum
Ver Eecke has produced a highly sophisticated study of clinical approaches to psychosis and schizophrenia that is informed by Lacanian ideas and a range of related philosophical and post-Lacanian approaches. It is very readable and covers complex ideas well, carefully balancing the conceptualizations of a range of theorists along with the author's own novel ideas. Very accessible and understandable clinical examples bring the discussions alive and make the arguments seem applicable to real-world clinical work, which is one of the successes of the book, especially given that this is often a challenge for Lacanian theorists. -- Paul Cammell, senior fellow and psychiatrist, Royal Melbourne Hospital, University of Melbourne
Wilfried Ver Eecke is a gifted Lacanian psychoanalyst and first-rate describer of psychoanalytic theories.In this book, he describes effective treatments for schizophrenia. . He also offers real hope to patients suffering from serious mental disorders, who usually have been told they are hopeless. This book will help them know that it is not true. -- Bertram P. Karon, PhD., ABPP, professor of psychology emeritus, Michigan State University
Table of ContentsForeword by Bertram P. Karon, PhD, ABPP Introduction Part I: Psycho-Social and Linguistic Complexity of Human Beings as a Basis to Understand Schizophrenia and Psychosis Chapter 1: Towards a Philosophy of Psychosis Chapter 2: The Subjective Experience of the Person with Schizophrenia Chapter 3: Philosophical Questions about the Theory of Psychosis in the Early Lacan Chapter 4: Paternal Metaphor and Ordinary Psychosis Chapter 5: Theoretical and Therapeutic Implications of the Later Lacan’s Complex Theory of Psychosis Chapter 6: A Post-Lacanian View on Schizophrenia Part II: Hegel and Lacan on Mental Illness Chapter 7: Hegel as Lacan's Source for Necessity in Psychoanalytic Theory Chapter 8: Hegel and Lacan on Paranoia and the Question of How to Avoid the Dangers Inherent in Ideas of Social Reform Part III: Psychosis and Schizophrenia are Illnesses Marked by a Defective Relationships to Language Chapter 9: Phenomenology, Linguistic Intentionality, Affectivity and Villemoes’ New Therapy for Schizophrenics Chapter 10: Self-referencing in the Language of the Severely Mentally Ill Part IV: Lacan’s Concept of “Paternal Metaphor” Applied to Schreber and Hölderlin Chapter 11: Reflections on the Concept of “Paternal Metaphor" at the Occasion of Lacan's and Schatzman's analyses of Schreber Chapter 12: The Concept of "A-Father" or the Psychological Origin of Mental Breakdown in Schreber and Hölderlin Part V: Lacanian Reflections on Successful Talk Therapies with Persons Afflicted with Schizophrenia or Psychosis. Chapter 13: A Lacanian Interpretation of Karon’s Psychoanalytic Treatment of Persons Afflicted with Schizophrenia Chapter 14: On Villemoes’ Lacanian Inspired Treatment Method of Persons Afflicted with Schizophrenia Chapter 15: On Prouty’s Successful Treatment Method for Persons Afflicted with Schizophrenia Conclusion
