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Navigating Language Games Around Psychosis
Author(s) -
Watts Jay
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
british journal of psychotherapy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.442
H-Index - 17
eISSN - 1752-0118
pISSN - 0265-9883
DOI - 10.1111/bjp.12289
Subject(s) - psychoanalytic theory , psychology , psychosis , intrusion , oppression , psychoanalysis , politics , social psychology , psychotherapist , psychiatry , geochemistry , political science , law , geology
Psychoanalytic work can help people meaningfully engage with aspects of psychotic experience which feel overwhelming. However, such contact is only possible if we offer a practice that is acceptable to both potential patients, and the family, team and social groups they exist within. As a psychoanalytic community we are failing to do this, partly because of the political terrain, but also due to our perceived unapproachability. I argue that the type of tentative, humble positions advocated by approaches such as ‘open dialogue’ allows psychoanalytic techniques to be more palatable to those experiencing psychosis. This is especially important given how language functions in psychosis, and the histories of intrusion and oppression that language interacts with. Clinical material from work with a female patient suffering from paralysing visual hallucinations is discussed, with a particular emphasis on how contact was only possible once certain discourse knots were deconstructed. Such work requires giving up some traditional ideas around technique in the interest of serving one of the most disenfranchised client groups.