When the Sun Bursts: The Enigma of Schizophrenia

Psychoanalyst Bollas (Catch Them Before They Fall) explores schizophrenia in a fascinating mix of memoir, case studies, and research. He presumes basic familiarity with psychological and psychoanalytic theory; nevertheless, the text will be accessible to the curious lay reader. Part One details the author’s journey into the field of psychoanalysis, starting when he worked as a counselor with severely autistic and psychotic children in Berkeley, Calif., in the 1960s and ’70s, and moving through his professional training and practice. The bulk of the book is dedicated to describing what it is like (in Bollas’s view) to be schizophrenic and to treat a schizophrenic person. Individual chapters are devoted to different manifestations of schizophrenia, such as hearing voices and experiencing somatoform disorders (mental illnesses with physical symptoms). These are results, according to Bollas, of the patient’s attempts to cope with altered perception by shutting out the world. He also discusses how to provide treatment through talk therapy. While Bollas acknowledges that his own experiences cannot furnish definitive proof, his belief is that intensive, one-on-one therapy can cure schizophrenia. This book is a remarkable look at a confounding illness and the practices of one seasoned, passionate analyst. [em](Nov.) [/em]