From the psychoanalytic couch

reflections on the ethical formation of the analyst today

Abstract

This article problematizes the formation of the analyst in a context marked by initiatives seeking state recognition, through the Ministry of Education, for psychoanalysis courses that promise certification as a “psychoanalyst.” It examines to what extent such proposals, although they have not achieved the formal regulation of an undergraduate degree, may operate a transformation of the analyst’s formation into a product and of practice into a formal title, bringing psychoanalytic discourse closer to market logic. It further questions whether these initiatives may constitute a contemporary form of emptying out — or even aversion to — psychoanalysis, insofar as they displace its axis from the ethical experience that sustains it — involving personal analysis, supervision, transmission, and ongoing study — toward the promise of formal qualification and official recognition.