1st Edition

Telling Stories? Attachment-Based Approaches to the Treatment of Psychosis

By Sarah Benamer Copyright 2010

    Telling Stories? explores the contemporary state of affairs in the understanding and treatment of psychosis. An inclusive approach to mental distress requires that in order to truly understand psychosis we must begin by listening to those who know this from the inside out; the voices and narrative of those who have been condemned as "unanalysable" and mad. Far from being fantastical, the complex stories that are being articulated communicate painful truths and the myriad ways in which the human psyche survives overwhelming trauma. This book is the culmination of an integrated and creative alliance between those on the cutting edge, experientially, in research, diagnosis, and treatment; this multidisciplinary dialogue proposes a new relational and attachment orientated paradigm for the 21st century. In contrast to the containment model that is currently favoured, this advocates listening and talking therapies, and the healing power of a loving relationship, offering those with psychosis the possibility of more nourishing engagement with the world.

    CHAPTER ONE Telling stories? Attachment-based approaches to the treatment of psychosis CHAPTER TWO A brief history of psychosis, its politics and why genetics is a cop-out CHAPTER THREE Never let the truth get in the way of a good story, CHAPTER FOUR The personal is political CHAPTER FIVE Can attachment theory help explain the relationship between childhood adversity and psychosis? CHAPTER SIX Truth is stranger than fiction—what happens to the story when no-one wants to know CHAPTER SEVEN In bits: Hearing the fragmented narratives of people who experience psychosis CHAPTER EIGHT Interprofessional collaboration: Achieving integrated care in mental health services

    Biography

    Sarah Benamer