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The complex subject of psychosis

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Abstract

Psychological resilience is built on the capacity accurately to reflect on one's thoughts and feelings in relation to the thoughts and feelings of others. The strong link between bullying and psychosis highlights ways in which social isolation inhibits the development of these capacities. Prevailing ideas about psychosis tend further to marginalize individuals already struggling with social isolation. We present interview data that show ways in which identified patients may stumble over diagnoses, thereby exacerbating extant cognitive or perceptual difficulties. In striking contrast, a Lacanian perspective marks the importance of recognizing the Subject in the context of experienced difficulties. Such a view is supported by outcome data that highlight the importance of attending to the psychosocial contexts in which psychosis arises, and the human connections through which such distress might be moderated.

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Correspondence to Marilyn Charles.

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Charles, M., O'Loughlin, M. The complex subject of psychosis. Psychoanal Cult Soc 17, 410–421 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1057/pcs.2012.30

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