The PCC's Continuing Education Committee

is pleased to present

Jean Laplanche's Theory of the Unconscious and Why Gender Matters in Psychoanalysis

featuring

Dominique Scarfone, MD

The Canadian Psychoanalytic Society & Institute (Montreal French Branches)

Saturday, September 27, 2025

9:00 am to 12:00 pm (Pacific Daylight Time)



CEUs: 2.75

Location

Via Zoom. The Zoom Link will be emailed to participants one-week before the event.

Program Description

This program is designed to introduce participants to the intellectual legacy of Jean Laplanche by studying an important paper by one of his prominent students, Dominique Scarfone. Jean Laplanche was the author of the classic psychoanalytic dictionary, The Language of Psychoanalysis. He was also the chief translator of the complete works of Sigmund Freud from German into French.

In this seminar, Dr. Scarfone will read the key lecture that he presented to the 51st Congress of the International Psychoanalytic Association in 2019. The paper is titled "The feminine, the analyst and the child theorist." In this paper Scarfone relies upon the conceptual legacy of Jean Laplanche to reflect upon the fundamental role of gender in shaping the unconscious. In the Laplanche/Scarfone model, the unconscious is not a constitutional endowment granted to human being by way of their biological inheritance, but rather it arrives after birth as the infant struggles (and fails) to translate the enigmatic messages about sex and gender that it receives from its caregivers.

Following the presentation, Phillip Lance will facilitate a conversation with Dr. Scarfone and PCC Member Robert Byer to allow for deeper engagement and understanding of the richly dense text. The seminar will include ample time for audience discussion with Dr. Scarfone and the panelists.

Program Schedule

Target Audience

MD's, Psychologists, LCSW's, MFT's, Registered Nurses, candidates and members of psychoanalytic institutes, and student clinicians who are interested in psychoanalytic training programs.

Course Objectives

At the end of this activity, participants should be better able to:

1. Differentiate the popular understanding of Freud's model of the unconscious from Laplanche's understanding of Freud's model of the unconscious;
2. Describe several ways in which the Feminine is conceived in psychoanalytic theory.
3. Identify two kinds of transference in the Laplanche model of psychoanalysis;
4. Define the term "the primacy of the other" in the formation of the unconscious, according to Laplanche's model.

Program Faculty

Dominique Scarfone, M.D., is a training and supervising analyst in the Canadian Psychoanalytic Society & Institute (Montreal French Branches) in the process of retiring from his practice of more than 40 years. A former full professor at the Université de Montréal, he was for many years an Associate Editor of the International Journal of Psychoanalysis. He is presently chairing the Executive committee of the International Journal’s College. 

The author of numerous journal articles and book chapters, he published a number books, among which Laplanche: An introduction and The Unpast. The Actual Unconscious, both published in 2015 in New York by UIT-The Unconscious in Translation. He co-edited with Howard B. Levine and Gail Reed. Unrepresented States and the Construction of Meaning (Karnac, 2013). A new book is in preparation: The Reality of the Message. Seduction, trauma and transference (UIT, 2023).

Continuing Education Credit

The Psychoanalytic Center of California designates this live activity for a maximum of 2.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in this activity.



This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the California Medical Association (CMA)  through the Psychoanalytic Center of California. The Psychoanalytic Center of California  is accredited by the California Medical Association (CMA)   to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

As per the California Board of Psychology, psychologists may apply AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™ earned by attendance at this CME accredited live activity toward their continuing education requirement for licensing. 

The Psychoanalytic Center of California is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT) to sponsor continuing education for LMFT's and LCSW's (CAMFT Approved Provider # 135374). The Psychoanalytic Center of California maintains responsibility for this program/course and its content. This course meets the qualifications for 2.75 hours of continuing education credit for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and/or LEPs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences. These learners must attend the entire course to claim credit; no partial credit is offered according to CAMFT requirements.

*Important note: Participants who plan to use the credits in another state should check with their licensing jurisdiction to see if the credits from an ACCME or CAMFT provider will be accepted.

Claiming Credit: Participants will receive a certificate of attendance at the event, which can be used toward licensing requirements. Credit is offered for actual instruction time and does not include breaks.

Refunds/Cancellations: Refunds, less a $10 administrative fee, will be made if cancellation notification is phoned or postmarked three (3) business days in advance of this program. There will be no refunds on requests received after the refund deadline. Full refunds are made in the event that PCC must cancel this program.

Returned Checks: A $25.00 service charge will be assessed for checks returned by the bank.

Grievances: While PCC goes to great lengths to assure fair treatment for all participants and attempts to anticipate problems, there will be occasional issues that come to the attention of the PCC staff which will require intervention and/or action on the part of the staff. Visit  www.p-c-c.org/ethics for PCC's procedural guidelines for handling such grievances.

Special Needs: Facilities are accessible to persons with disabilities. If you have a special need and plan to attend the conference, please contact the PCC Office by phone at (310) 478-4347 or via email at 0ffice@p-c-c.org. Special needs requests will be fulfilled if received one week prior to the event, which will ensure we have ample opportunity to meet your needs.

Commercial Support Disclaimer: The planners and presenters for this event have not received commercial support for this event nor are there any relevant financial relationships between the sponsors, presenters, program content, research, grants, or other funding that could reasonably be construed as conflicts of interest.

Financial Support Disclaimer: The planners and presenters for this event have no financial relationships to disclose.

Confidentiality:  By registering for this educational event, attendees agree to strictly maintain confidentiality of any clinical material shared and will not distribute or convey such confidential material outside of the conference. 

Program Planners

Continuing Education Committee: Philip Lance, PhD (co-chair) and Leigh Tobias, PhD (co-chair); Jennifer Kunst, PhD (member and CME coordinator); Chris Minnick, MD (member and CME chair); Persila Conversano, PsyD and Stacey Nicklas, PsyD (members); Jason Snyder, LMFT and Yelena Kashtuyeva, LMFT (candidate members)

Additional Planners: Robert Byer, PhD and Philip Lance, PhD

Registration

General admission: $125

Current PCC Candidates and PPP students: FREE

Full time student, Candidates from other institutes: $50