a b o u t
Begun in 2016, the group for independent formation is a small collective of Lacan-oriented psychoanalytic practitioners in New York City who have worked together to pursue analytic formation entirely or in part outside of institutional structures.
With members engaging their own personal analysts and clinical supervisors, the group has taken various forms as a forum for intensive reading of literature, clinical case discussion, and exploration of key concepts in psychoanalysis, at times in collaboration with ‘guest’ senior analysts. Members also individually take part in other reading and work groups according to their interests and desire. The group is currently organized around launching a series of psychoanalytic events that will aim to incite engagement and work for everyone involved.
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Lacan's Table of Sexuation, altered to illustrate the position of the analyst.
Lacan suggests that to become a psychoanalyst is ultimately an act of self-authorization, linked to a turning point in one’s personal analysis that must also occur in dialogue with 'some others.' With this in mind, the group’s aim has been to support each of its members in taking up the position of psychoanalyst in a way that is rigorous and ethical—while recognizing that each must invent for themselves a way of inhabiting the psychoanalyst’s activities. Our view is that supporting such invention enacts the ethic of psychoanalysis itself.