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Psychosis in Lacan’s Teaching
How can Lacan’s ideas on psychosis help us understand clinical practice today? Across more than four decades of work, from his early writings in the 1930s to his late seminars of the 1970s, Jacques Lacan developed a rich and evolving theory of psychosis that remains one of the most influential psychoanalytic approaches to severe mental suffering. This course offers a systematic exploration of that trajectory, examining how Lacan moved from his structural theory of psychosis, centered on foreclosure and the Name-of-the-Father, to his later reflections on the inconsistency of the symbolic order, the sexual non-rapport, ordinary psychosis, and the sinthome. Throughout, we will consider the major shifts in Lacan’s thinking and their implications for contemporary clinical work.
Particular attention will be paid to the relationship between theory and practice. The course situates Lacan’s conceptual developments alongside his clinical writings and case discussions, including his work on paranoia, schizophrenia, psychotic phenomena such as hallucination, delusion, and passage à l’acte, as well as processes of stabilization and subjective invention. We will examine how questions of transference, interpretation, clinical intervention, crisis, and recovery are conceptualized across different periods of Lacan’s teaching, and how these ideas have been taken up and elaborated by later Lacanian clinicians.
Finally, the course addresses contemporary challenges in the treatment of psychosis. Rather than approaching psychosis through deficit-based models, the Lacanian orientation emphasizes singularity, subjective solutions, and the inventive ways in which individuals establish consistency in their lives. We will explore how Lacan’s conceptual and ethical framework can contribute to current debates in psychiatry, psychotherapy, recovery-oriented care, and community mental health.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
Understand the historical development of Lacan's theory of psychosis from the 1930s through the mid-1970s.
Explain the concepts of foreclosure, the Name-of-the-Father, the Symbolic, the Imaginary, and the Real in relation to psychotic functioning.
Analyze Lacan's later theories concerning non-existence, non-rapport, and the sinthome.
Identify the principal clinical mechanisms involved in psychotic crisis, stabilization, hallucinations, and delusions.
Understand Lacan's approach to transference and the ethics of treatment in psychosis.
Examine the notion of ordinary psychosis and its relevance for contemporary clinical practice.
Apply Lacanian concepts to clinical material and case formulation.
Critically engage with current debates on recovery, psychiatric diagnosis, and the treatment of psychosis from a psychoanalytic perspective.
Practical Information
This course will run for 8 sessions / 90 mins per session.
This course will run on Thursdays at 7pm Central European Time (10am LA / 1pm New York / 6pm London).
Session dates: October 28; November 4, 11, 18, 25; December 2, 9, 16, 2027.
This course will be delivered online via Zoom. Live attendance is strongly encouraged, but lectures will be recorded and available to participants who cannot attend.
Enrolment is open to all. Prior knowledge of Lacanian psychoanalytic concepts and some relevant literature may be helpful.
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.
Instructor
Stijn Vanheule is Professor of Psychoanalysis and Clinical Psychology at Ghent University and a practicing clinical psychologist. His work focuses on psychoanalytic theory, psychopathology, diagnosis, and the treatment of severe mental suffering, with a particular emphasis on Lacanian psychoanalysis and psychosis. He is the author of numerous books and peer-reviewed articles, including The Subject of Psychosis: A Lacanian Perspective, and Why Psychosis is Not So Crazy, and has published extensively on the conceptualization and treatment of psychosis, psychiatric diagnosis, and contemporary mental health care. He is a member of the New Lacanian School and is internationally recognized for his contributions to the dialogue between psychoanalysis and contemporary clinical practice.
Early Bird Discount available until July 31. Full price will then be €349.
How can Lacan’s ideas on psychosis help us understand clinical practice today? Across more than four decades of work, from his early writings in the 1930s to his late seminars of the 1970s, Jacques Lacan developed a rich and evolving theory of psychosis that remains one of the most influential psychoanalytic approaches to severe mental suffering. This course offers a systematic exploration of that trajectory, examining how Lacan moved from his structural theory of psychosis, centered on foreclosure and the Name-of-the-Father, to his later reflections on the inconsistency of the symbolic order, the sexual non-rapport, ordinary psychosis, and the sinthome. Throughout, we will consider the major shifts in Lacan’s thinking and their implications for contemporary clinical work.
Particular attention will be paid to the relationship between theory and practice. The course situates Lacan’s conceptual developments alongside his clinical writings and case discussions, including his work on paranoia, schizophrenia, psychotic phenomena such as hallucination, delusion, and passage à l’acte, as well as processes of stabilization and subjective invention. We will examine how questions of transference, interpretation, clinical intervention, crisis, and recovery are conceptualized across different periods of Lacan’s teaching, and how these ideas have been taken up and elaborated by later Lacanian clinicians.
Finally, the course addresses contemporary challenges in the treatment of psychosis. Rather than approaching psychosis through deficit-based models, the Lacanian orientation emphasizes singularity, subjective solutions, and the inventive ways in which individuals establish consistency in their lives. We will explore how Lacan’s conceptual and ethical framework can contribute to current debates in psychiatry, psychotherapy, recovery-oriented care, and community mental health.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
Understand the historical development of Lacan's theory of psychosis from the 1930s through the mid-1970s.
Explain the concepts of foreclosure, the Name-of-the-Father, the Symbolic, the Imaginary, and the Real in relation to psychotic functioning.
Analyze Lacan's later theories concerning non-existence, non-rapport, and the sinthome.
Identify the principal clinical mechanisms involved in psychotic crisis, stabilization, hallucinations, and delusions.
Understand Lacan's approach to transference and the ethics of treatment in psychosis.
Examine the notion of ordinary psychosis and its relevance for contemporary clinical practice.
Apply Lacanian concepts to clinical material and case formulation.
Critically engage with current debates on recovery, psychiatric diagnosis, and the treatment of psychosis from a psychoanalytic perspective.
Practical Information
This course will run for 8 sessions / 90 mins per session.
This course will run on Thursdays at 7pm Central European Time (10am LA / 1pm New York / 6pm London).
Session dates: October 28; November 4, 11, 18, 25; December 2, 9, 16, 2027.
This course will be delivered online via Zoom. Live attendance is strongly encouraged, but lectures will be recorded and available to participants who cannot attend.
Enrolment is open to all. Prior knowledge of Lacanian psychoanalytic concepts and some relevant literature may be helpful.
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.
Instructor
Stijn Vanheule is Professor of Psychoanalysis and Clinical Psychology at Ghent University and a practicing clinical psychologist. His work focuses on psychoanalytic theory, psychopathology, diagnosis, and the treatment of severe mental suffering, with a particular emphasis on Lacanian psychoanalysis and psychosis. He is the author of numerous books and peer-reviewed articles, including The Subject of Psychosis: A Lacanian Perspective, and Why Psychosis is Not So Crazy, and has published extensively on the conceptualization and treatment of psychosis, psychiatric diagnosis, and contemporary mental health care. He is a member of the New Lacanian School and is internationally recognized for his contributions to the dialogue between psychoanalysis and contemporary clinical practice.
Early Bird Discount available until July 31. Full price will then be €349.