Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy (June 2003) Volume 17, No. 2, 163–174 DIFFERENT VIEWS OF A PSYCHOTIC BREAKDOWN – COMPLEMENTARY PERSPECTIVES OF A BEWILDERING EXPERIENCE SONJA LEVANDER and ANDRZEJ WERBART SUMMARY As humans we cope with incomprehensible and threatening experiences by creating our own theories about what is happening. In this study two psychotic patients and their therapists were asked to describe the patient’s problem, its background and preferential treatment. To get a third perspective, Rorschach was administered to the patients. The interviews were repeated 6 and 18 months later. The narratives were compared and related to the outcome patterns. The most apparent difference was found in the theories about the cure. The Rorschach assessment was found to complement the interviews in a fruitful way. INTRODUCTION Experiences associated with a first-time psychotic breakdown can be described in different ways: from within, that is from the subjective per- spective of the patient, and from without, that is from that of the close environment, including the family, work colleagues, neighbours, or from the professional expert perspective. None of the perspectives can be said to be more or less accurate or real than the others. Each has its own value, depending on what it is used for. The patient tries to understand and handle the anxiety-provoking experience by putting it in the context of previous life experiences. The care-givers, on the other hand, make observations related to the theories of their professional education. The medical staff mainly focus on symptoms and anamnestic information of importance for diagnosis and treatment-planning, whereas therapists, from their particular frame of reference, try to understand the problems and treatment needs of the patient from what is happening in the therapeutic relationship. Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy ISSN 0266-8734 print/ISSN 1474-9734 online © 2003 The Association for Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy in the NHS http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals DOI: 10.1080/1474973031000105311 163