Paul Verhaeghe (born November 5, 1955 in Roeselare) is a Belgian professor of clinical psychology and psychoanalysis. Studies In 1978, Verhaeghe graduated with a master's degree in psychology from the University of Ghent (RUG). In 1985, he obtained his PhD in clinical psychology (RUG) and in 1992 a special doctorate in psychodiagnostics (RUG). He received his initial psychoanalytical training at the Belgian School for Psychoanalysis (training analyst J. Schotte) and then at the École de la Cause Freudienne (Paris-Brussels). Employment After his studies, Verhaeghe worked for some time as a clinical psychologist and psychotherapist at a mental health centre (GGZ) in Sint-Niklaas and then also for some time at the Special Youth Care centre in Eeklo. In late 1981, he started his PhD research at the University of Ghent. He did this under the guidance of prof. Julien Quackelbeen, with whom he co-wrote many articles. In 1992 he was appointed Associate Professor. In 1996, he acquired the rank of Full Professor. He teaches Clinical Psychodiagnostics, Psychoanalytical Therapy and Gender Studies. He was head of the Department of Psychoanalysis and Clinical Consulting from 1999 through October 2014. Work In 1998, Verhaeghe became known for the publication of Liefde in tijden van eenzaamheid (Love in a Time of Loneliness), a psychoanalytic reading of the postmodern man-woman relationship. Despite its levels of difficulty, the book was an unexpected success and has since been translated into eight languages. In 2008, a slightly reworked version of the book was published by the Bezige Bij publishing house. Until 2000, Verhaeghe mainly published articles in which he tried to combine the work of Sigmund Freud and Jacques Lacan into a theory, which is useful according to psychoanalysts. With Over normaliteit en andere afwijkingen (2000), he tried to offer an alternative to the DSM diagnostic system; the U.S. edition of this book On Being Normal and Other Disorders received the Goethe Award. One point of special interest in this work is his redefinition of the neglected Freudian diagnostic category of "actual neurosis". Here, the clinical category of actual pathology, where affect regulation, identity formation and (impaired) interpersonal relationships combine at the level of aetiology, is proposed to offer a more useful basis for the diagnosis and treatment of contemporary mental illness. Shortly after 2000, he was part of a study group under the auspices of the IPA (International Psychoanalytic Association) on the interface between neuroscience and psychoanalysis. The