Training

There are innumerable ways of recounting a life, and a childhood that may seem like a fraught love affair. Uniquely, psychoanalysis takes us to the core of how these accounts – and the consequences they have – are told and retold. It is a combination of theory and practice that allows spaces to arise, owes nothing to conformity and risks unearthing what it is that we really want.

If you are interested in such explorations, the Australian Centre for Psychoanalysis offers an Introductory Course designed for both clinicians and those with a more general orientation. For more than 20 years, this one-year course has provided an entrée to the work of Sigmund Freud and those who came after him, most especially Jacques Lacan.

The course, conducted over two semesters one evening a week in Parkville, tackles the concepts that lie at the heart of psychoanalysis. It is both theoretical and practical, with an emphasis on the case studies Freud used to illustrate his revolutionary understanding. Taught by analysts and others from the Australian Centre for Psychoanalysis, it also explores conceptual frameworks that different schools have used to elaborate their version of Freud’s discovery.

Psychoanalysis – as theory and a clinical practice – also has a powerful research function. All these will be touched upon in the course. In weekly 1 and ½ hour seminars the teaching covers the basic ideas of psychoanalytic practice, and the way that they are implemented in the clinic.

As the source from which all psychotherapies derive, psychoanalysis aims most potently to produce truthful knowledge, and this will be a theme of the course. Over its many years the Introductory Course has proved an accessible way to explore psychoanalysis. Held Thursday evenings between 7.30 and 9, it is suitable for those who want to develop an understanding of psychoanalysis – and is open to anyone interested in learning through the study of Freud’s case studies, and the conceptual thinking that both underpinned those cases, and elaborated from them.

By introducing participants to the fundamental concepts of psychoanalysis – particularly that elaborated by Freud and Lacan – the course can be a springboard to further study. For many, it has led to a training in psychoanalysis, and an involvement with the wider psychoanalytic community.

For further information please contact course co-ordinator,
Dr Peter Ellingsen, peter.ellingsen@psychoanalysis.org.au, or Tel: 0408 125 076.

The Australian Centre for Psychoanalysis offers a well-established program of theoretical and clinical studies in psychoanalysis. The program is aimed at engaging participants in a systematic study of the key concepts of Freudian and Lacanian psychoanalysis. Particular emphasis is given to psychoanalytic ethics and practice. The program provides a firm theoretical foundation for those wishing to undertake the tripartite formation necessary to train as a psychoanalyst with the ACP. The course is studied over four years, with each year comprising two semesters of 14 weeks duration.

If you are interested in any aspect of the program of studies contact: Dr Serena Smith, 0409 191 404, serena.smith@psychoanalysis.org.au



First year: 

Semester one: theory of the unconscious



The first year of the program introduces participants to the foundational concepts of Freud’s work, their elaboration by Jacques Lacan and their application in clinical practice. This involves a comprehensive study of the formations of the unconscious and the epistemological, philosophical and clinical questions they give rise to.



Semester two: Theory of the drive and sexuality

In second semester participants are introduced to the concept of the drive and the questions posed by human sexuality in the work of Freud, Lacan, and other authors. The study of the drive is fundamental because it distinguishes sexuality within the field of psychoanalysis from that of instinct and reproduction. This section includes the structure of the drive, Lacan’s unique theory of the object, and the complex topic of sexual identity.



Second year:

Semester one: Transference, repetition, and introduction to psychopatholgy

Repetition and transference are fundamental psychoanalytic concepts studied in the second year of the program, alongside a rigorous study of Freud and Lacan’s theories of psychopathology and clinical structures. The structure of hysteria and anxiety hysteria are considered in more detail.



Semester two: Psychopathology - neuroses, psychosis and perversion

Each clinical structure is studied in depth, beginning with the structure of obsessional neurosis and following with an examination of the structure of the psychoses (paranoia, schizophrenia, melancholia) and autism. Finally, the clinic of perversion is investigated. Current nosological categories are critically examined. Case studies are discussed to ground the participants’ knowledge in the clinical practice of psychoanalysis.



Third year:

Semester one and two: Ethics and praxis



Both semesters of third year are dedicated to the study of fundamental ethical questions posed by the clinical practice of psychoanalysis. This includes an exploration of the Lacanian concept of the analyst’s desire, and investigation of the contributions made by Freud and Lacan to the field of ethics.



Fourth year:

Semester one: Psychoanalysis with children and adolescents



The final year of the program is devoted to the study of the theory and clinical practice of psychoanalysis with children and adolescents. It includes consideration of the typical problems encountered in the work and the many epistemological, ethical and technical questions that arise. The program includes an examination of the contribution made by pioneers in the field: Melanie Klein, Donald Winnicott, Maud Mannoni, Rosine and Robert Lefort and others.  



Semester two: Special clinical problems



In the final semester of the four-year program we allocate time to investigate clinical and conceptual questions that arise in the treatment of special conditions such as addictions, severe depression, psychosomatic phenomena, borderline conditions, atypical psychosis, transgender/sexual identity issues and other problems that arise in contemporary clinical practice.

First year:

Second year:

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