Abstract
Harry Stack Sullivan's concept of interpersonal psychiatry has been recognized as a landmark in the American psychoanalytic movement, in particular his influence on the development of object-relations theory. He is an influential figure in interpreting the inner experiences of persons with schizophrenia. Psychotic experiences represent a failure of one's self-system and the dissociation dynamism. Delusions and hallucinations are experiences in lost control of self-awareness. The person regresses to dreams or experiences from infancy and childhood in facing spontaneous conflicts and anxiety in interpersonal transaction. As a result, the tripartite self-system is fractured. In this paper, the writer applies Sullivan's concept in interpreting the inner psychotic experiences of a client with schizophrenia. Its implication for clinical social work practice is also discussed.
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Yip, Ks. Sullivan's Approach to Inner Psychotic Experiences: A Case Illustration. Clinical Social Work Journal 30, 245–263 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1016093314798
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1016093314798