Why Psychosis Is Not So Crazy - by Stijn Vanheule (Paperback)

About the Book

"A respected psychoanalyst and professor offers a new, humanizing perspective on psychosis and how we can effectively respond to mental health crises. Are we all a little crazy? Roughly 15 percent of the population will have a psychotic experience, in which they lose contact with reality. And yet we still often struggle to understand and talk about psychosis. Interactions between people build on the stories they tell each other-stories about the past, about who they are or what they want. In psychosis we can no longer rely on these stories, this shared language. So how should we communicate with someone experiencing reality in a radically different way than we are? Drawing on his work in psychoanalysis, Stijn Vanheule seeks to answer this question, which carries significant implications for mental health as a whole. With a combination of theory from Freud to Lacan, present-day research, and compelling examples from his own patients and well-known figures such as director David Lynch and artist Yayoi Kusama, he explores psychosis in an engaging way that can benefit those suffering from it as well as the people who care for and interact with them"--

Book Synopsis

An expert's guide to humanizing psychosis through communication offers key insights for family and friends to support loved ones during mental health crises.

Are we all a little crazy? Roughly 15 percent of the population will have a psychotic experience, in which they lose contact with reality. Yet we often struggle to understand and talk about psychosis. Interactions between people build on the stories they tell each other--stories about the past, about who they are or what they want. In psychosis we can no longer rely on these stories, this shared language. So how should we communicate with someone experiencing reality in a radically different way than we are?

Drawing on his work in psychoanalysis, Stijn Vanheule seeks to answer this question, which carries significant implications for mental health as a whole. With a combination of theory from Freud to Lacan, present-day research, and compelling examples from his own patients and well-known figures such as director David Lynch and artist Yayoi Kusama, he explores psychosis in an engaging way that can benefit those suffering from it as well as the people who care for and interact with them.

Review Quotes

"Vanheule...combines a long history of treatment of patients suffering from psychosis with a firm grasp of the current research on the subject...he provides useful information for sufferers and those who care for them, laid out in an articulate, sympathetic manner." --Kirkus Reviews

"This superb and highly accessible book shows how psychosis should be seen less as an illness than as a way of responding to difficulties and trauma in our early lives. It offers a destigmatizing and profoundly humane approach both to thinking about and working with psychosis, reminding us how so much of what tends to be seen as negative and incorrect behavior is in fact a creative solution that the psychotic subject has developed in order to find safety. Vanheule's book will be an invaluable resource for anyone touched by psychosis, whether they are a patient, a family member, or a clinician." --Darian Leader, author of Introducing Lacan

"Shaking up conventional ideas, Stijn Vanheule makes us understand what being psychotic is like, and thus discloses a logic of insanity. This accessible, fast-moving survey, written with clarity and verve, offers a fresh take on psychosis. A must-read for anyone curious about the method in madness." --Patricia Gherovici, author of The Puerto Rican Syndrome

"Why Psychosis Is Not So Crazy makes a vital contribution for readers who have experienced psychosis, their friends and family, as well as professionals. Stijn Vanheule elucidates experiences of psychotic crises eloquently, including what kind of life events may trigger a crisis, how such a crisis manifests and can be recognized, and crucially, the presence of someone able to listen to a person who has lost their bearings in language. Vanheule follows Freud and Lacan into a deep respect for the subject of psychosis; he speaks to the work of delusion as a work of repair, to kernels of truth in psychosis, and to the difficult work of listening, all with a minimum of psychoanalytic theorizing. Perhaps the strongest contributions in this book are Vanheule's explanations of the ways that language can fall apart and the resulting effects on experience; and his showcasing the capacity of those who have experienced psychosis to navigate primary process fragments alongside lucidity through original creative projects sustained over time." --Annie G. Rogers, author of Incandescent Alphabets: Psychosis and the Enigma of Language

"Stijn Vanheule offers psychological insight into what occurs when someone starts to feel a rupture with their context. It is not a question of illness but a meaningful response to chaos. The book is recommended for all those involved, especially for professionals looking to turn the page and engage in more humanistic approaches." --Jaakko Seikkula, Professor of Psychotherapy, University of Jyväskylä

"Vanheule...is known for his constructive, in-depth research on the DSM and psychosis...With his familiar clear style, he succeeds in [comprehensively explaining psychosis to a wide audience]." --Tijdschrift voor Psychiatrie

"[Vanheule] dispels the myth that psychosis is best viewed through a purely biological lens." --Sociaal.Net

About the Author

Stijn Vanheule, PhD, is a clinical psychologist, professor at Ghent University, Belgium, and psychoanalyst in private practice (New Lacanian School for Psychoanalysis and World Association of Psychoanalysis). He is the author of the books The Subject of Psychosis: A Lacanian Perspective, Diagnosis and the DSM: A Critical Review, and Psychiatric Diagnosis Revisited: From DSM to Clinical Case Formulation, as well as multiple papers on Lacanian and Freudian psychoanalysis, psychoanalytic research into psychopathology, and clinical diagnosis.