The Lacanian clinical domain is well known for its three basic diagnostic structures (neurosis, psychosis, perversion). To some practitioners, this system appears esoteric, requiring familiarity with Lacan’s broader body of thought and seeming to partake of an entirely different nosological ‘language game’ than the DSM and its international counterparts. To others, it appears confusingly minimal, with its apparent exclusion or demotion of diagnostic factors in high circulation in most of today’s psychotherapeutic vocabularies, such as narcissism, depression, and borderline pathology. Even for the curious, the learning curve can appear dauntingly steep. Yet the rewards of coming to grips with this approach to diagnosis are immense, opening up clinical perspectives and possibilities for effective intervention that are available in no other clinical orientation today. 

This seminar will offer clinicians and trainees a unique opportunity to move beyond an ‘introductory’ or schematic comprehension of Lacanian diagnosis and toward actually implementing it in their work. It will present Lacanian diagnostic categories not as ‘objectifying’ designations, à la the DSM, but as subjective structures, each of which relies upon a distinct mode of defense (repression, foreclosure, disavowal) that are evident in the anaylsand’s speech and transference. These subjective structures will become the foundation for case formulation and the development of relevant clinical strategy and technique. 

The seminar will introduce and develop a series of key Lacanian/Freudian concepts—desire, jouissance, the Name-of-the-Father, the three registers (Imaginary/Symbolic/Real), objet a,and phallus, among others—as a way both of differentiating subjective structures and highlighting which Lacanian techniques and interventions (punctuation, scansion, ‘hystericization’, oracular and ‘non-meaningful’ interpretation, ‘secretarial work’, and so on) are indicated in working with them. 

The seminar will be divided into five main modules, focused respectively on neurosis (hysteria and obsession), perversion, and psychosis, with a fifth module dedicated to the subject of autism. Individual sessions, taught alternately by Derek Hook and Jason Childs, will involve sustained, accessible discussion of theoretical questions and detailed explorations of clinical literature, including Freud’s major case studies and contemporary Lacanian case studies. The concluding week of each module will consist of a workshop, led jointly by Hook and Childs, focused on clinical material provided by the participants or, where this is not available, by the instructors.

Practical Information

• This course will run for 18 sessions / 90 mins per session.

• This course will run on Saturdays at 7am LA / 10am New York / 3pm London / 4pm Paris.

• Session dates: August 14, 21, 28; September 4, 11, 18, 25; October 2, 9, 23, 30; November 6, 13, 20, 27; December 4, 11, 18.

• This course will be delivered online via Zoom. Recordings of the lecture portion of each session will be made available to participants for the duration of the course, but the group discussions will not be recorded. Attendance at all sessions is strongly encouraged.

• Enrolment is by application (form below). Participation in this seminar is by application. While the programme is intended primarily for clinicians and clinical trainees, applications are welcome from non-clinicians with a strong interest in Lacanian analysis.

• This course does not result in an official certification. However, a letter of acknowledgment signed by The Analytic Forum’s directors will be available upon completion of the course.

• Applications to this course will be accepted on a rolling basis. Applications will certainly close on July 31, 2027. Places are limited, however, so applying well in advance is encouraged.

Fees

Successful applicants to this seminar will be charged a fee of 1200 euros.

This can be paid in six (6x) monthly installments of 200 euros, the first of which will be paid on acceptance to the seminar.

Successful applicants who pay the fee upfront as a lump sum will receive a discount of 200 euros (i.e. they will pay 1000 euros total).

Application