Fridays @ CCP Lecture Series
Derek Hook, PhD
(Pittsburg, PA)
Perversion as a Diagnostic Category….? A Clinical and Critical Exposition of a Lacanian Concept
Friday December 12, 2025
7-9pm (CST)
After-Words Bookstore, 23 E. Illinois Street, Chicago
&
Zoom
About the Presentation: The Lacanian conceptualization of perversion has been subject to multiple critiques, both from without and within Lacanian psychoanalysis, despite that it arguably remains clinically instructive. Some have argued that perversion is an outmoded clinical category, particularly given its pejorative connotations, in an era where ‘kink’ and BDSM (Bondage, Dominance and Sadomasochism) are increasingly considered mainstream sexual practice. Even some Lacanians have insisted that perversion falls short of a subjective/diagnostic structure. Taking heed of these concerns, this talk nonetheless introduces a vignette of perversion (stemming from the author’s time working as a trainee in a prison context). This provides a way of exploring the various facets of the Lacanian notion that the perverse subject positions themselves as the object-cause of the Other’s enjoyment. This minimal definition entails at least three crucial Lacanian concepts: the symbolic (big) Other, (libidinal) enjoyment (or jouissance) and the idea of subject as object-cause. Utilizing multiple grounded examples, this talk will offer an introduction to the Lacanian conceptualization of perversion, draw out clinical implications, and offer critical reflections on whether perversion (and the associated defense of disavowal) should be considered (or used) as a structural diagnostic category.
Derek Hook is a Professor in Psychology and a clinical supervisor at Duquesne University. A scholar and practitioner of psychoanalysis, he is one of the editors (along with Calum Neill) of the Palgrave Lacan Series and of the four-volume Reading Lacan's Ecrits (with Calum Neill and Stijn Vanheule). He began his analytical training in London, at the Center for Freudian Analysis and Research. He is the author of Six Moments in Lacan and the co-editor of Lacan on Depression and Melancholia, in addition to papers on various facets of the clinical and cultural dimensions of Lacanian Psychoanalysis. He maintains a YouTube channel with many lectures on Lacanian Psychoanalysis.
Learning Objectives:
Participants will be able to:
1. Identify perverse phenomena as thery appear in the clinical domain
2. Explain the component concepts (enjoyment, the Other, the notion of subject as object-cause) that feature within a Lacanian conceptualization of perversion
This presentation is designed for beginners to intermediate-level participants
Fees
CCP members: free with annual $195 membership, payable at registration.
Students:free with annual $175 membership, payable at registration.
New Fellows / Ongoing: free with annual $250/$300 membership, payable at registration.
Non-CCP members, single admission: $50
Continuing Education
This program is sponsored for Continuing Education Credits by the Chicago Center for Psychoanalysis. There is no commercial support for this program, nor are there any relationships between the continuing education sponsor, presenting organization, presenter, program content, research, grants or other funding that could be construed as conflicts of interest. Participants are asked to be aware of the need for privacy and confidentiality throughout the program. If the program content becomes stressful, participants are encouraged to process these feelings during discussion periods. The Chicago Center for Psychoanalysis maintains responsibility for this program and its content. CCP is licensed by the state of Illinois to sponsor continuing education credits for Licensed Clinical Social Workers, Licensed Social Workers, Licensed Clinical Professional Counselors, Licensed Professional Counselors, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapy Counselors and Licensed Clinical Psychologists (license no. 159.000941 and 268.000020 and 168.000238 Illinois Dept. of Financial and Professional Regulation).
Professionals holding the aforementioned credentials will receive 2.0 continuing education credits for attending the entire program. To receive these credits a completed evaluation form must be turned in at the end of the presentation and licensed psychologists must first complete a brief exam on the subject matter. No continuing education credit will be given for attending part of the presentation. Refunds for CE credit after the program begins will not be honored. If a participant has special needs or concerns about the program, s/he/they should contact Toula Kourliouros Kalven by December 11, 2025 at: tkalven@ccpsa.org
References/Suggested Readings
Clavreul, J. (1980). The perverse couple. In S. Schneiderman (Ed.). Returning to Freud: Clinical Psychoanalysis in the School of Lacan. New Haven, NJ & London: Yale University Press, pp. 215-233.
Fink, B. (1999). A Clinical Introduction to Lacanian Psychoanalysis. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. (Chapter on Perversion.
Hook, D. (2022). Perverse act, gaze and structure. Psychoanalytic Practice, 30, 1, 10-38.
Nobus, D. (2017). Perversion in the 21st Century: A psychoanalytic conundrum. In D. Caine & C. Wrights (Eds.) Perversion Now!, pp. 93-107.
Swales, S. (2012). Perversion: A Lacanian Psychoanalytic Approach to the Subject. London & New York: Routledge.
Presented by
The Chicago Center for Psychoanalysis/CCP Program Committee: Zak Mucha, LCSW, Alan Levy, PhD, Toula Kourliouros Kalven.
The Chicago Center for Psychoanalysis is an IRS 501(C)(3) charitable organization, and expenses may be tax deductible to the extent allowed by law and your personal tax situation.