ABSTRACT
This chapter explains the theory of direct psychoanalysis. It discusses its procedures of treatment. Essentially, direct psychoanalysis is Freudian. “Direct psychoanalysis" is a method of understanding and treating psychotics. It is essentially Freudian, as the name implies, although it includes some substantial modifications of Sigmund Freud's theories and techniques. Direct psychoanalysis is largely the creation of John Rosen. However, in his technique he departs widely from Freud. Many of his interventions are so far removed from classical psychoanalytic methods that they seem more a new departure than a "modification" as Sullivan terms them. Direct psychoanalysis can address the psychotic as if the mother's "maternal instinct" had been "perverted." A large part of Direct Psychoanalytic Psychiatry is devoted to the understanding of specific examples of psychotic behaviour, such as "rapid talk" or "silly mood" or "submissive reaction," in terms of the general theoretical orientation of direct psychoanalysis.
