Elective: Introduction to French Psychoanalysis
Instructor
Christine Anzieu, M.D., Ph.D.
November 5 – December 17, 2020
8:00 – 9:30 pm
Course Description
The cultivation by French psychoanalysis of its Freudian origins makes a potentially interesting contribution to American analytic theory and practice, particularly with regard to such notions as the fundamental importance of the drives and the role of the economic in the psychic balance that led to the psychosomatic school.
This elective course will explore the role of Jacques Lacan in shaping French thinking on the role of the Other in the formation of the Unconscious and the counterbalance of this influence in the work of French analysts such as Andre Green and Didier Anzieu. Their reintroduction of affect in relation to the body amid Jean Laplanche’s discussion of Freud’s Seduction theory will be used to rethink the origins of fantasy in the maternal unconscious.
In addition, this course will explore the consequences of theory on analytic technique; more precisely, the role of the frame in the analysis of narcissistic and borderline patients, the interpretation of transference, and the interpretive work of the analyst as a means of maintaining the fluidity of the associative process.
7.5 Contact Hours. 7.5 CME/CE credits offered for the course in its entirety.
Educational Objectives
Upon completion of this course, participants should be able to:
- Describe and critically evaluate historic and contemporary psychoanalytic theories developed in France after Lacan.
- Recognize the multilayered dynamics present in borderline and narcissistic patients.
- Identify the role of the frame, of the transference-countertransference process and the techniques of interpretation in analysis of difficult patients.
Physicians: This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of American Psychoanalytic Association and New York Psychoanalytic Society & Institute. The American Psychoanalytic Association is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
The American Psychoanalytic Association designates this Live Activity for a maximum of (7.5) AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Evaluation Method
Each student’s participation in class discussion and his or her demonstration of understanding of the course objectives and reading material is assessed in a written evaluation by the instructor(s).
These articles are protected under relevant copyright regulations. They are available in the New York Psychoanalytic Society & Institute Electronic Reserve for your convenience, and for your personal use.
I. Psychoanalysis in France
CLASS 1: November 5, 2020
REQUIRED READINGS
Aisenstein, M. (2010). Letter from Paris. Int. J. Psycho-Anal., 91(3):463-468.
de Mijolla, A. (2010). Some distinctive features of the history in psychoanalysis in France. p.60-72, In: Reading French Psychoanalysis, Routledge.
Scarfone, D. (2005). Psychoanalysis in the French Community. In: E. Person, A. Cooper and G. Gabbard, Textbook of Psychoanalysis. Chap.27, pp. 423-433.
II. Jacques Lacan: The Celebration of the Unconscious
CLASS 2: November 12, 2020
REQUIRED READINGS
Kirshner, L. (2004). The Psychoanalytic Subject. In: Having a Life: Self Pathology After Lacan, The Analytic Press. (pp. 27-54.)
Lacan, J. (2010). The Mirror Stage as Formative of the Function of the I as Revealed in Psychoanalytic Experience. In Reading French Psychoanalysis (pp. 97 -104)
Lacan, J. (1949) The Mirror Stage as Formative of the Function of the I as Revealed in Psychoanalytic Experience. In: Ecrits: A Selection (pp. 1-7)
SUPPLEMENTAL READINGS
Laplanche, J. and Pontalis, J.B. (1973). The Language of Psycho-Analysis. Int. Psycho-Anal. Lib., 94:1-497. London: The Hogarth Press and the Institute of Psycho-Analysis. [Read Chapters on Ego and Ego Ideal, pp. 130-145]
Oliner, M. (1998). Jacques Lacan: The Language of Alienation in Psychoanalytic Versions of the Human Condition. Paul Marcus and Alan Rosenberg (Eds.), New York University Press, pp 362-391.
III. Andre Green: The Work of the Negative
CLASS 3: December 3, 2020
REQUIRED READINGS
Green, Andre. 2005. The work of the negative. Key Ideas for a Contemporary Psychoanalysis. Routledge. pp. 212-226.
Reed, G.S., Baudry, F.D. (2005). Conflict, Structure, and Absence: André Green on Borderline and Narcissistic Pathology. Psychoanal Q., 74:121-155.
IV. Jean Laplanche: Theory of Seduction and Deferred Action (Apres-coup)
CLASS 4: December 10, 2020
REQUIRED READINGS
House, J. (2012). A Taste of Laplanche.
Laplanche, J. (1997). The Theory Of Seduction And The Problem Of The Other. Int. J. Psycho-Anal., 78:653-666.
Scarfone, D. (2014). The Three Essays and the Meaning of the Infantile Sexual in Psychoanalysis. Psychoanal. Q., 83(2):327-344.
SUPPLEMENTAL READINGS
Perelberg, R.J. (2006). The Controversial Discussions and après-coup. Int. J. Psycho-Anal., 87(5):1199-1220.
V. Didier Anzieu: The Skin Ego and Psychic Envelopes
CLASS 5: December 17, 2020
REQUIRED READINGS
Houzel, Didier, The concept of psychic envelope, p. 42-55. In Anzieu Didier, 1990, Psychic Envelopes, Karnac.
Anzieu, Didier, 1989, The Skin Ego, Yale Univ. Press. The Notion of a Skin Ego, pp.36-45.
Anzieu, Didier, 1989, The Skin Ego, Yale Univ. Press. Functions of the Skin Ego, pp. 96-113.
Anzieu, Didier, 1989, The Skin Ego, Yale Univ. Press. Impairments of the Skin Ego in Narcissistic Personalities and Borderline Cases, pp.122-135.
Anzieu-Premmereur, C. (2015). The Skin-Ego: Dyadic Sensuality, Trauma in Infancy, and Adult Narcissistic Issues. Psychoanal. Rev., 102(5):659-681.
SUPPLEMENTAL READINGS
Guillaumin, J. Professional Disorders of the Psychoanalyst from the point of view of the envelopes. In: Psychic Envelopes, Karnac. (pp.161-178)