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COURSE FIVE – Clinical Lacan: Dreams in the Lacanian Clinic

COURSE FIVE - Clinical Lacan: Dreams in the Lacanian Clinic

Course Coordinator: Judith Hamilton

Seminar Leaders: Judith Hamilton, Carlos Rivas, Alireza Taheri

Thursday, 7:30 pm – 10:00 pm: November 12, 19, 26, December 3, 10, 17, 2020 (6 evenings)

Fees: Parts A and B – $360; Part A or Part B – $180

Preregistration is required.

** DISTANCE PARTICIPATION ONLY – This course will be conducted online.

In this course, we will present Lacan’s comments about the use of dreams as material for understanding the unconscious, its elements and structures and its relation to the life of a patient. Because Lacan bases many of his examples and descriptions of the mechanisms on those described by Freud in The Interpretation of Dreams (1899), we will first present Freud’s work and then relate it to some of the basic categories of Lacan’s theory – the big Other, desire, the imaginary and the symbolic – illustrating with clinical examples. Then we will present and discuss several dreams, of Freud’s own and from patients whom he saw in analysis, that Freud presented and interpreted. We will take up Lacan’s detailed discussion of these dreams, showing how they illustrate Lacan’s theories and the direction of his treatments. In the second section of the course, we will consider dreams from the standpoint of the later Lacan for whom the concept of the subject of/and the unconscious is taken up in that of the speaking being, desire is replaced by drive, which seeks the satisfaction of jouissance in the Real of the body. These latter concepts are useful for treating a broader range of patients, including psychotic patients, than for those neurotics patients treated mainly, effectively, by concepts from the early Lacan.

Hence, the course will be divided into two parts, parts A and B. Part A will begin at the beginning, in the early Lacan, and be useful for participants with little or no understanding of Lacan’s work. Part B will be presentations oriented towards the later Lacan, useful to those who are already familiar with Lacan. One can sign up for either part separately or both parts, or add Part B to Part A during the course.

Part A – November 12, 19, 26
Part B – December 3, 10, 17

Learning Objectives:
1. Participants will be familiar with terms, concepts and their uses that Lacan introduces into the psychoanalytic field.
2. Participants will have learned about techniques based on the Lacanian orientation for treating a wide variety of patients and clients.
3. Participants will have learned about these techniques as they are used in various clinical settings and populations.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of the course:

  1. Participants will be familiar with terms, concepts and their uses that Lacan introduces into the psychoanalytic field.
  2. Participants will have learned about techniques based on the Lacanian orientation for treating a wide variety of patients and clients.
  3. Participants will have learned about these techniques as they are used in various clinical settings and populations.
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Judith Hamilton, MD, FRCP, (Psych)

Psychiatrist/Psychoanalyst in Private Practice. She teaches in the ATPPP and in the Extension Program of the TPS. She is a co-founder of Lacan Toronto. Faculty TPS&I.

Carlos Rivas, RP

Carlos Rivas, RP, studied psychology, philosophy and social sciences in Venezuela. He trained in Gestalt Therapy, Hypnotherapy, Motivational Interviewing, Focusing, and EMDR, and in 2005 was the recipient of the Venezuelan National Award for Research in Psychotherapy. He has a private practice in psychoanalytic psychotherapy. Member of Lacan Toronto; Guest of the TPS.

Alireza Taheri, PhD, RP

Alireza Taheri, PhD, RP, wrote his dissertation for the University of Cambridge on Nietzsche, Freud and Lacan. He also holds an MA in philosophy from Essex and an MSc in psychoanalytic thought from University College London. He has done psychoanalytic work in London (UK). He works in private practice in Toronto. Candidate at TIP.

The Extension Courses are eligible for Section 1 CME credits (0.5 credits/hour).

Full-time students in universities and colleges, and mental-health trainees are eligible for a 25% reduction in course fees. Proof of 2020/2021 status needs to be provided. Please contact the tps&i directly to register at a discount. Refunds must be requested in writing two weeks prior to the beginning of a course. A handling fee of $30 will be retained. After these two weeks, fees cannot be returned.

For more information about and for registration in the tps&i Extension Programs, Scientific Meetings, Training Programs, Study and Supervision groups and Special Presentations, please visit our website: torontopsychoanalysis.com or email info@torontopsychoanalysis.com

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