Abstract

The question that drives this paper is: How does time function in psychosis? Given the altered or inhibited relation to speech in psychosis, I think that it is worth working out a notion of temporal or, to borrow Bessel van der Kolk’s term, “rhythmical. .. .interactions” (Listening to Trauma, 2014) with the afflicted persons. Using Freud’s analysis of non-linear psychic time, I construct a theoretical model of temporal modifications in psychosis. I then use this model, along with Lacan’s writings on psychosis, to show the temporality peculiar to psychotic breakdowns. Aligning the theoretical analyses with the individual testimonies, I draw on patient accounts of psychotic time-perception recited by Davoine and Gaudillière and by Minkowski.