[The-Lacanalyst] A theoretical an practical questioning

[Jacques B. Siboni]

Dear friends and colleagues

I had a very interesting discussion with Aviva, which pinpointed
the major differences between psychoanalysis in France and the USA.

I wish to have you opinion on this.
Let's put it this way, you are licensed by the state as psychiatrist,
psychologist, social worker etc. You spend the evening with a very good
friend of yours and he says he cannot carry on and he is going to kill
himself. You do your best to help him change his mind and you go to
sleep without telling anyone. The next
morning you hear he is dead, unfortunately. My first question is
can you be sued? due to the fact you, when you are in your office,
try to cure people and have got a license to do so.

I imagine (and hope) that you can argue that what happened that evening 
was totally
PRIVATE and was independent of your profession.

In France situation of psychoanalysis is close to this one, it is a PRIVATE
relationship between two humans. I mean, not only in the evening but in your
office as well. No one has the right to intermix with it.
There is an analyst and an analysand who agree to use a certain apparatus
aimed to facilitate a work of speech (Freudian talking cure). The fact that
you might be a licensed psychologist
or psychotherapist of psychiatrist does not make a difference as long as
the process with your analysand is analytic and not therapeutic. We know
some people did kill themselves when in analysis with Lacan or other
analysts but of course they were not sued.

When we talk about lacanalysis we mean this. Because Aviva says that 
even in the
case of a private practice with a patient she can be sued. Of course in
the regard of psychoanalysis it is a nonsense.

I'd love to have your vision of this scheme as it seems to be a thorn in the
side of psychoanalysis in your country.

All the very best

Jacques

PS can you meet on Friday 5 at 1400 UTC?