Wisdom of Psychosis: Navigating the Intelligence of Altered States

What if the experiences psychiatry calls ‘psychosis’ carry intelligence?
When consciousness shifts through trauma, spiritual crisis, or states that move beyond diagnosis, many encounter fear, medication, and control. They’re told their brain is broken, their perceptions cannot be trusted, and they need to be fixed.
This book offers a different lens: altered states are intelligible human responses to trauma and profound shifts in consciousness, calling for discernment and gentle care rather than suppression.
Wisdom of Psychosis weaves modern science with ancient maps of the mind to make complex experiences understandable and workable. Through clinical insight, embodied practices, and illuminating case studies, it offers orientation when inner worlds become overwhelming. It also brings a critical lens to both psychiatric reductionism and spiritual bypassing, holding sensitivity with depth, discernment, and dignity.
This is steady, practical guidance through three essential lenses: trauma recognition, spiritual honoring, and embodied integration, revealing the universal human layers beneath diagnosis.
For those navigating thresholds where worlds dissolve and remake themselves, and for those who walk beside them, this is a companion for the journey.

'An optimistic, compassionate approach to healing grounded in safety, relationship, and care.'
— Dr. Stephen Porges, creator of Polyvagal Theory

'Wisdom of Psychosis goes where few have had the courage to venture — beyond labeling to listening.'
— Dr. Kelly Brogan, New York Times bestselling author

Anneke Sips, RN, is a community psychiatric nurse, yoga therapist, and integrative trauma therapist with twenty-eight years of experience in crisis care and mental health. Trained in the Krishnamacharya yoga lineage, she pioneered the integration of yoga into psychiatric settings and has designed research interventions within clinical care. She has authored several articles and contributed book chapters on trauma, consciousness, and mental health; Wisdom of Psychosis is her first full-length book. Her work bridges psychiatry and embodied healing, exploring the deeper layers of human consciousness through an integrative and relational lens. Known for her grounded presence and clarity, Anneke supports individuals, families, and professionals worldwide in learning to meet altered states and lived experience with steadiness, dignity, and discernment. She lives on the Dutch coast with her daughter and two cats.