On the Couch:
A Repressed History 
of the Analytic Couch
from Plato to Freud

 

 

The use of the couch in psychoanalysis is unstudied and under-theorized. Yet the couch is iconic, a universally recognized symbol of psychoanalysis. The couch’s iconic status has outstripped its theoretical underpinning, though not necessarily its practical utility. The couch has become the emblem of a cultural narrative of self-knowledge. As this richly illustrated presentation demonstrates, an inquiry into the origins of the use of the couch in psychoanalysis reveals links between recumbence and evolving notions of leisure, pleasure, comfort, privacy, and interiority. The complicated and changing social meanings of recumbent posture are examined with special attention to traditions of recumbence in the healing arts. The meaning and function of recumbent speech cannot be understood outside of its social history. 

 

 

PRESENTER: Nathan Kravis, MD 

 

2.0 CE/CME credits available

No Charge for PCOP Members, Students, and Fellows*
No Charge for Students, Fellows, and Residents (no credit available)
$50 for Non-Members Seeking Credit
$20 for Non-Members not Seeking Credit

*If you are a PCOP member whose membership category does not include receiving continuing education credits (Basic Level membership), please pay the fee for non-members seeking credit. 

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