ABSTRACT
Freud’s belief that psychotic individuals are beyond the scope of psychoanalysis because they are unable to form (transference) relationships has influenced psychoanalysis in two opposite ways. One group of analysts has been successful in proving he was incorrect, leading to extreme therapies based on the concept of re-parenting. Not only did these ultimately prove regressive, but for the most part they were based on the mistaken belief that forming a relationship is sufficient treatment. Of those who succeeded in proving a relationship can be established, most have failed to recognize that the minds of psychotic persons work in a qualitatively different way than that of normal and neurotic individuals. By far the majority of analysts have agreed with Freud so that psychosis is generally believed to be beyond the scope of psychoanalysis. Work with psychotic persons is not a part of the approved curriculum toward graduation or the expected career trajectory of graduate analysts.
