Unraveling Psychosis: Psychodynamic Treatment of Psychosis - Danielle Knafo, PhD

This presentation was a session at the ISPS-US 2022 National Conference in Sacramento, CA. Thank you to our sponsors The California School of Professional Psychology (CSPP) at Alliant International University: https://www.alliant.edu/schools/cspp

The International Society for Psychological & Social Approaches (ISPS-US) promotes psychological and social approaches to states of mind often called "psychosis" in treatment, education, and advocacy through collaborations between service providers, experts by experience, and family members. Join ISPS-US as a member by visiting www.isps-us.org

Session Description
In this presentation, I will discuss my psychoanalytic approach to meeting the challenges of working with psychotic individuals or individuals experiencing extreme states. This approach focuses primarily on providing safety, forging a working alliance by meeting the patient where they are and allotting them maximum personal agency, understanding their symptoms as attempts at adaptation and restoration of the self, and working with the transference and countertransference.

About the speaker:
Dr. Knafo is a clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst. She has chaired a concentration on Serious Mental Illness at LIU's PsyD program for 22 years, and she has treated persons diagnosed with psychosis for 40 years. She is completing a book (with Michael Selzer) titled From Breakdown to Breakthrough: Psychodynamic Psychotherapy of Psychosis (Routledge).