“What is the Unconscious?” Seminar 4: Lack and Gestalt

Hey all,

This week Michael, a Lacanian Psychoanalyst, is providing the topic for part three of the “What is the Unconscious” seminar. Here’s the write-up:

Lack and Gestalt: A Lacanian perspective on the work of Fritz Perls and Gestalt Therapy

Gestalt therapy (associated with Fritz Perls) emphasizes immediacy, awareness, and “being in the here and now.” It assumes that through heightened awareness, the person can become more integrated and whole. It is best known by the technique of “the two chair,” and Perls’ work Gestalt Therapy Verbatim
A Lacanian perspective (from Jacques Lacan) would challenge this at the root. For Lacan, the subject is not something that can become whole through awareness—it is constituted by its lack, The subject is split between conscious and unconscious, and this split is structural, not something to be resolved. It is best known by the technique of “the cut,’ and Lacan’s Ecrits.

Nevertheless, how can we put these two traditions in the chair (or the couch) and allow for some authentic dialogue (there is no authentic dialogue).