Françoise Dolto, Dominique, and the Psychoanalysis of Adolescents

Discussants: Michael Ryzner-Basiewicz, Michael Ferrara, Patricia Gherovici, Loryn Hatch, Matt Johnson, Gabrielle Jensen, and Jamieson Webster

While the child psychoanalyst Françoise Dolto stands alongside Jacques Lacan as a leading light of the Other French School, she has been little translated and remains curiously unknown in the English-speaking world. First published in 1971, Dominique: The Case of an Adolescent is frank and close to the clinical experience, rivaling Freud’s own case studies in terms of specificity, universality, and quality of writing. A masterpiece of the genre, it is at once a granular psychological portrait of a troubled adolescent and his familial inheritance, and a historical case study of French society in the 1960s. Through her writing, Dolto shows us the possibility for psychoanalytic care and the clarity that can be reached with a child who, at first, appears to make very little sense to everyone around him.

To celebrate and contextualize the republication of Dominique, Michael Ryzner-Basiewicz, Michael Ferrara, Patricia Gherovici, Loryn Hatch, Matt Johnson, Gabrielle Jensen, and Jamieson Webster will introduce the text and lead attendees in a reading of the case. The discussion will emphasize the ongoing clinical relevance of Dolto’s work, while also paying close attention to questions of sexuality and psychosis in childhood and adolescence.

Attendees are encouraged to purchase and read the case in advance of the event in order to participate in the discussion.

Ticket cost includes entrance and an advance copy of Dominique at a special price for the occasion. Participants who reserve a ticket by October 6th will receive a copy at their address (US only), or may collect it on the night. Please indicate preference when booking.

Attendees are encouraged to read the case in advance of the event in order to participate in the discussion.

Co-sponsored by The Foundation for Community Psychoanalysis, Pulsion: The International Institute of Psychoanalysis and Psychoanalytic Psychosomatics and Divided Publishing.

Françoise Dolto, Dominique: The Case of an Adolescent (Divided Publishing, 2025) Translated by Ivan Kats, revised by Lionel and Sharmini Bailly 264 pp., paperback, 13 b&w illustrations RRP $20, ISBN 9781739516192