Navigating Psychosis and Identity

In Anatomy of a Psychotic Experience (Ipbooks, 2022), psychoanalyst Richard Reichbart recounts a psychotic experience when he was in his thirties juxtaposing an account written a few years after the experience with reflections made decades later. This unique work captures both the subjective experience of a particular kind of psychosis, and the analytic interpretation of that experience.

"He graphically portrays both the feel and the logic of a psychotic episode foreshadowed by his separation from college and from law school and ultimately precipitated by the loss of his beloved grandfather. His search for his identity led him to the Navajo reservation which was 'ideal for the nurturance of my psychosis.' He gives testimony to the help he received from two outstanding psychoanalysts who worked with him to unpack and weave together the effects of childhood events and fantasies on his adult personality. A book for those at all levels of psychoanalysis, one that demonstrates the possibility of psychoanalyzing psychosis."

- JANICE LIEBERMAN, PHD

Akilesh Ayyar is a spiritual teacher and writer in New York. He can be reached at ayyar@akilesh.com.

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