Breaking Through the Fog: Psychoanalysis and the Treatment of Psychosis

For more than a century, individuals with psychotic disorders have frequently engaged in psychoanalytic psychotherapy. Despite Freud’s theories leading to initial hesitation in psychoanalysis regarding the treatment of psychosis—mainly due to perceived challenges in transference—certain clinical centers continued documenting case studies, progressively adapting their psychoanalytic approaches. While case studies are increasingly recognized for their role in exploring psychotherapy processes and bridging the gap between research and practice, they are often difficult to access and evidence synthesis on them are barely absent. This scoping review sought to map the clinical understanding of psychosis treatment by analyzing narrative case studies focusing on psychoanalysis or psychodynamic psychotherapy in patients with psychotic disorders.