The analyst does not analyze the patient. Rather the analysand analyzes himself – and authorizes himself – by means of some others. In this Seminar we will explore the origins of psychoanalysis in Freud’s “auto-analysis.” What can we learn from Freud’s own analysis performed in writing Letters with a “non-analyst” placed in the position of analyst? What can we learn from Jung’s analysis of his imminent “psychosis” by means of writing and drawing the Red Book? What can we learn from Lacan’s rejection of his “training analysis” and his method of taking the position of analysand in his Seminar. While Freud’s patients remained patients, it was only his closest colleagues who became analysands – and analysts – by developing a style and method out of the singularity of the symptom.

Freud – Letters to Fliess
Jung – The Red Book
Lacan – Seminar 23: Sinthome
Anzieu – Freud’s Auto-Analysis