In this exploration of a radical approach to the psychoanalytic treatment of individuals on the brink of a mental breakdown, Christopher Bollas presents a new and bold clinical paradigm. He suggests that the unconscious purpose of a breakdown is to present the self to the other for a transformative understanding, in order to directly confront and comprehend the underlying suffering. If recognized in time, a breakdown can become a breakthrough. It is an event imbued with the deepest personal significance, but it requires a profound understanding to unlock its meaning for its transformative potential. Bollas believes that hospitalization, intensive medication, and CBT/DBT negate this opportunity, and he proposes that many of these patients should instead be offered extended, intensive psychoanalysis. This book will be of interest to clinicians who find that in patients.