Lacan's Clinical Technique ― Lackanian Analysis

How do psychoanalysts act during analysis? When does treatment start? How long does a session or treatment last? How much does it cost? What does analytical interpretation entail? What is the final aim of analysis? These are the main issues Antonio Quinet addresses for clinical psychoanalysts and students in training.

This is not a do-it-yourself book or a step-by-step manual for, but rather an examination of Freudian and Lacanian techniques based on psychoanalytical theory and ethics.

The ideas examined are grounded in the structure of subjectivity, and the basic assumption that analysts have taken their own analysis to the end. It is from thereon that they will have the analyst´s desire as a practical tool for their own clinical practice.

Antonio Quinet's contribution regarding the start of treatment comes from his updated examination of Freudian concepts through Lacanian mathemes. This approach has made this book´s first version a best seller in Brazil, with over 30,000 copies sold.

The author examines Freud´s initial conditions: the trial period (renamed by Lacan as “preliminary interviews”), couch use, handling of time, and treatment fees. Finally, he describes and theorizes on what analysts do behind the couch: the act in the role of the semblant of object a and analytical interpretation.

Lacan´s concept of semblant closely bonds theater and the analytical act and his concept of lalangue does likewise with poetry and analytical interpretation. Quinet's approach closely reflects the relationship between psychoanalysis and performing arts.

Antonio Quinet, MD, PhD, is a psychoanalyst, psychiatrist, and playwright. He is a member of the School of Psychoanalysis of the Forums of the Lacanian Field; a Professor of the Graduate Program in Psychoanalysis, Health and Society (UVA, Rio de Janeiro), where he developed the research project 'Theatre and Psychoanalysis'; and the director of the 'Unconscious on Stage Company'. He is the author of ten books published in Brazil (two translated into French and one into Spanish), as well as many articles published in Brazil and abroad on psychoanalysis, and seven plays staged in many cities in Brazil, as well as Rome, Paris, and London.