ISTDP and psychosis: an investigation into the role of unconscious conflict and emotions

This research thesis investigates how Davanloo’s metapsychology of the unconscious can contribute to the current psychodynamic understanding of psychosis. It demonstrates that Davanloo’s metapsychology proposes a psychodynamic theory, which is in accordance with current findings in emotion and attachment research. It is furthermore established that attachment and emotions become specifically connected with unconscious conflict through Davanloo’s use of the triangle of conflict, which places unconscious conflict linked to painful emotions about early attachment trauma at the core of the unconscious conflict. It has been found that Davanloo’s metapsychology of the unconscious offers a unique contribution to the current psychodynamic understanding of psychosis by equally considering the role of unconscious conflict and providing an explicit theoretical account of the role of emotions in psychosis.