In this important work, Danièle Brillaud provides an illuminating exploration of major concepts in Jacques Lacan’s notoriously difficult writings, the Écrits. To illustrate the theory, she discusses clinical cases and examples from the treatment of patients with a wide range of psychiatric disorders.

This book is intended as an introduction to Lacanian theory and practice. Concrete examples show the interdependence of clinical work and conceptual formalisation in Lacan’s reading of Freud. A spectrum of disorders and clinical issues is presented, including delusional misidentification syndromes, paranoid psychosis and schizophrenia, hypochondria, Cotard delusion, fetishism, the differential diagnosis of neurosis and psychosis, and more. Brillaud highlights the roots of Lacan’s thought in classical French psychiatry and brings out the clinical relevance of his references to linguistics, literature, and topology. Her approach to treating and understanding psychopathology provides invaluable insight into Lacanian theory and clinical practice.

This book will be of interest to students of psychoanalysis, clinical psychology, and psychiatry who would like to get a better understanding of Lacan’s work and its clinical application, as well as to more experienced clinicians who are interested in the diagnosis and treatment of patients in Lacanian psychoanalysis.