New Developments in the Psychotherapy of Chronic Delusional States

This presentation will review the development of psychodynamic approaches to the treatment of chronic delusional states, including the contributions of the British Kleinan analytic experiences, the American approach of the Chestnut Lodge tradition, and efforts to combine cognitive-behavioral and analytic techniques. The presentation will outline present day psychotherapeutic approaches to these patients in the light of those experiences, and the indications and contraindications for the introduction of this modality of treatment as part of a total psychopharmacological and environmental supportive frame.