Equal to the Madness: Countertransference Intensive Psychotherapy for Psychosis

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Equal to the Madness: Countertransference Intensive Psychotherapy for Psychosis is among the first books of its kind to offer a semistructured psychoanalytic treatment for schizophrenia and psychotic disorders. Grounded in contemporary psychoanalytic theory, with a strong focus on Wilfred Bions seminal contributions to the treatment of psychotic states, this book presents a model for working with psychotic patients that emphasizes the key role of countertransference in understanding the patient and producing change. It addresses all the most important areas of treatment in one volume, presenting clinicians with comprehensive theory and technique for providing effective and thoughtful care to psychotic patients.
Equal to the Madness was researched using an intuitive process of distillation and matching, a means of selecting and identifying the common elements in treatment from diverse psychoanalytic literature spanning more than one hundred years. It effectively condenses, synthesizes, and streamlines much of psychoanalytic thinking on psychosis into an easy-to-access treatment compendium. The result is an explicit, well-articulated approach to psychotherapy that is sufficiently organized to be useful as a treatment manual, giving clinicians a reliable framework for intervening with psychotic patients.
Equal to the Madness is didactic and applied in addition to theoretical. It offers basic instruction to those who are just learning about the treatment of psychosis for the first time but is far-reaching enough to be helpful to more seasoned professionals. It provides clinicians with information related to assessment, intervention, and therapeutic strategies tailored specifically for psychotic patients. Rich case materials illustrating important concepts are included to reinforce learning. Equal to the Madness is a foundational resource for mental health care providers that delivers an instrumental learning experience.

Reviews

In Equal to the Madness, Dr. Wheeler grapples with the challenges of working with clients experiencing psychosis. As of the most daunting (and most interesting) challenges for a psychotherapist, it requires an extensive theoretical knowledge, experience, flexibility, and courage. Combining classical theories with more modern approaches, his approach is eclectic and synthetic, and avoids most of the dogmatic pitfalls of other authors. Dr. Wheelers curiosity, dedication, and imagination help us to learn how to be equal to our madness. -- Louis Cozolino, professor of psychology, Pepperdine University

Author Bio

Zachary Wheeler, PsyD is a clinical psychologist based in Los Angeles, California. Through his work at residential facilities and his private practice, Dr. Wheeler has treated numerous patients presenting with severe mental health disorders. His general therapeutic orientation is informed by contemporary psychoanalytic theory, particularly the work of Wilfred Bion. His primary interests are in the research, development, and teaching of psychotherapy for schizophrenia spectrum disorders as well as the psychotherapy of obsessive-compulsive disorder.