This seminar explores, under the guidance of guest discussant, Carol Owens, will explore the contours of the adolescent psychoanalytic clinic, focusing upon the knots and tensions immanent and emergent in the work. Thinking of the adolescent as a ‘liminal creature,’ one whose very being is in transition, allows us to consider so-called contemporary adolescent symptoms (self-harming, eating disorders, acting-out, etc.) as attempts at meaningful responses to states of disequilibrium and instability. These attempts will be revealed as all the more illuminating if we explore how the liminality of adolescence is coordinated with our rapidly changing socio-politico-cultural conditions, or what Lacan refers to as the Symbolic order. A frame for working with adolescents - taking account of what is liminal at the level of subjectivity, and at the level of the social bond - will be explored which applies Lacan’s Note on the Child of 1969 in conjunction with his remarks on the mother-child relationship from his seminar Encore of 1972-1973.

There will a group discussion after the speaker's presentation and seminar participants are invited to contribute and join in.

Registration Fee: €25 eu. Those with difficulty with the fee can write to freudlacaninstitute@gmail.com  Registrants will be sent a zoom link shortly before the seminar begins.