Breaking 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 Through a collection of published and unpublished articles, Ver Eecke traces the path of Lacanian thought.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.
Foreword 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 Hoelderlin 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 Hoelderlin 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
