ABSTRACT
The mythology that has surrounded psychoanalytic therapy of psychosis is explored including that the therapist must be an extraordinarily mature gifted person who knows the right way to do it, and that the work requires remarkable patience. Such ideas have discouraged many from undertaking the work and encouraged others to try to mimic their idols rather than develop their own unique abilities. It is important to have a solid knowledge of theory without resorting to it in a rigid dehumanizing way, and to be able to use one’s unique personality creatively to advance understanding. The importance of having a secure sense of one’s personal boundaries in dealing with persons whose undifferentiated integrated minds, fueled with rage, can threaten the analyst’s own mental stability leading to states of confusion and urges to retaliate with actions or intellectual arguments is emphasized. An ability to perceive, synthesize, or integrate disparate but related aspect of the patient’s unintegrated mind is also important.
