Psychosis

Psychotic Phenomena

In Lacanian psychoanalysis, it is important to distinguish between psychosis -- which is a clinical structure -- psychotic phenomena -- such as delusions and hallucinations.

Two conditions are required for psychotic phenomena to emerge:

• the subject must have a psychotic structure, and
• the Name-of-the-Father must be "called into symbolic opposition to the subject."

In the absence of the first condition, no confrontation with the paternal signifier will ever lead to psychotic phenomena; a neurotic can never "become psychotic."

In the absence of the second condition, the psychotic structure will remain latent.

It is thus conceivable that a subject may have a psychotic structure and yet never develop delusions or experience hallucinations.

When both conditions are fulfilled, the psychosis is "triggered off," the latent psychosis becomes manifest in hallucinations and/or delusions.