Let the Sunshine In

January 18, 2019, 7:30 - 10:00 PM

In this film, the protagonist, Isabelle, is an attractive middle-aged Parisian divorcee, mother, and artist who is sleeping her way to dissatisfaction with several incongruent men. She, herself, is a seductive bundle of contradictions, alternately empowered and castrated by her need for male approval. The film is based on a Roland Barthes novel, Fragments d'un Discours Amoureux, which best describes the film's impressionist style and Isabelle's contemporary search, if not for love, for the satisfaction of desire in transitional objects. In the end, her problematic quest amid the shifting flotsam of contemporary life finds illumination in a soothsayer's emollient dictum that substitutes for self-knowledge. 

Learning Objectives

As a result of attending this course, participants should be able to: 

  • Discuss the clinical application of Jacques Lacan’s statement: il n'y a pas de rapport sexuel ("There is no sexual rapport"), meaning that there is not only no guarantee for the sexual relationship, but that it is impossible to make sense of it, which condemns sexed beings to exist as split subjects out of sync with one another and themselves
  • Describe how the desire of the subject is determined by the gaze of the Other
  • Analyze how the resultant dissatisfaction (jouissance), born of an excess of expectation that can never be satisfied, lies beyond biological sex and socially constructed gender and social mores

Albert Morell, PhD, is a Lacanian clinical and research psychoanalyst in private and institutional practice. He is a former university lecturer in literature, philosophy, and film studies, as well as a former screenwriter. He is co-editor of The Los Angeles County Psychologist, and is founder and delegate of the California Forum of the Internationale des Forums École de Psychoanalyse des Forums du Champ Lacanien (IF-EPFCL), based in Paris, France.

Pranav Shah, MD, is a psychiatrist and a psychoanalytic psychotherapist who is passionate about movies and their use in illustrating the fundamental principles of psychoanalysis. He has co-authored a psychoanalytic study of the films of the renowned Indian auteur, Satyajit Ray.

Target audience: Mental health professionals and open to the public interested in psychoanalytic perspectives

Level: Every Level 

CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDIT

2.5 CE/CME Credits

IMPORTANT DISCLOSURE INFORMATION FOR ALL LEARNERS: None of the planners and presenters of this CME/CE program have any relevant financial relationships to disclose.

PHYSICIANS: This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of the American Psychoanalytic Association and the New Center for Psychoanalysis. The American Psychoanalytic Association is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The American Psychoanalytic Association designates this Live Activity for the maximum of 2.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

PSYCHOLOGISTS: The New Center for Psychoanalysis is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. New Center for Psychoanalysis maintains responsibility for this program and its content. Full attendance is required for psychologists to receive credit; partial credit may not be awarded based on APA guidelines. For the psychologists’ records, certificates of attendance are provided at the completion of the course.

SOCIAL WORKERS, MARRIAGE & FAMILY THERAPISTS (LCSW, LMFT, ASW, IMF, LEP, LPCC, PCCI) The New Center for Psychoanalysis is a continuing education provider that has been approved by the American Psychological Association, a California Board of Behavioral Sciences recognized approval agency.

REGISTERED NURSES: The New Center for Psychoanalysis is an accredited provider approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing (Provider #CEP1112). Registered Nurses may claim only the actual number of hours spent in the educational activity for credit.