Cormac Gallagher – Blessed are the Pacemakers – Dementia, Psychosis, and the Psychoanalytical Discourse

THE LETTER 55 & 56 Spring/Summer 2014, pages 1-11 Dementia has been described as the major mental health epidemic of the 21st century.   Yet far from being the living death it was seen as up to the 1980s, revolutionary new … Continue reading

Barry O’Donnell – Terms and Conditions – Psychosis and Psychoanalytic Treatment

THE LETTER 55 & 56 Spring/Summer 2014, pages 27-39. Psychoanalysis is a practice launched by a neurologist, Sigmund Freud, based on the interpretation of dreams, products of every mental life which signify so madly that the normal and the pathological become … Continue reading

Sarah Clarke, Elizabeth Lawlor, Mary Clarke – Reflections on the Challenges of Psychosis

THE LETTER 55 & 56 Spring/Summer 2014, pages 41-52. Recent research does not support the pessimistic view of recovery outcomes in those receiving early intervention for psychosis. However the effectiveness of any intervention depends on the willingness of the patient to … Continue reading

Tom Dalzell – Psychoanalytic Treatment of Psychosis – A Later Lacanian Critique of the 388 in Québec City

THE LETTER 55 & 56 Spring/Summer 2014, pages 93-102. This paper attempts to assess the psychoanalytic treatment of psychotic illness at a publicly funded centre in Canada. This treatment ‘after Lacan’ is thought to amount to treating delusions with the patient’s … Continue reading

Brendan Kelly – Balance and Connection: Bipolar Disorder and Psychoanalysis in Psychiatric Practice

Issue 46 (Spring 2011)  Pages – 13-19 Bipolar disorder comprises a pattern of symptoms characterised by disproportionate changes in mood, possible psychosis and various other symptoms at different times. Biopsychosocial management approaches often involve medication (e.g. lithium), psychological therapy (e.g. cognitive-behaviour therapy) and social … Continue reading