Lettre d'appui de 212 universitaires et chercheurs

SUBJECT:CLOSURE OF THE 388

To: The Honorable Lionel Carmant

MinisterResponsible for Social Services

We the undersigned are academic faculty and researchers whose work engages with psychoanalysis, and we are writing from all over the world to support the Center for the Treatment of Young Psychotic Adults in Quebec City (known commonly as the “388” by reference to its street address),and to voice our deep concern that the government health service is planning to close the 388. We have come to know the 388 thanks to the important publications, seminars, and conferences contributed by its founding analysts—Willy Apollon, Danielle Bergeron, and Lucie Cantin—to the field from 1976 to the present day, a number of which have been translated into English and Spanish.

Through their clinic for psychosis above all, but also through the 26 books they have published over the past decades, in addition to numerous articles in renowned scholarly journals, the analysts of GIFRIC have significantly impacted the field of psychoanalysis, which remains essential to major lines of critical thinking, from gender and queer theory to postcolonial theory and critical race studies, and to major disciplines from philosophy to literature and the social sciences. One of the key questions academics feel compelled to confront today is the question of the ways in which psychoanalysis must renew itself, if it is to make a significant contribution in the current contexts of the 21st century. This is precisely the question to which the work of the creators of the 388 provides a powerful answer. The concept of psychosis developed in Quebec, based on decades of treatment at the 388, offers a major, successful example of this urgent renewal of psychoanalytic theory and practice. It is no surprise that important recent works on the state and potential of psychoanalytic theory (Mills and Downing (eds.), 2019, Vanderwees, 2024) bring attention to the clinical work on psychosis in Quebec City.¹ The recently published LeTraitement psychanalytique des psychoses. Sa clinique et ses résultats [ThePsychoanalytic Treatment of the Psychoses. Its Clinic and Results] (2024) results from an international congress held in May 2023, where the topic o fpsychosis drew a large audience from numerous countries to Quebec City.²

Yet this is not an isolated event. Over the years, many academic sworking with psychoanalysis have attended the annual interdisciplinary training seminars GIFRIC has been organizing for anglophone academics and clinicians since the early 1990’s. These seminars have allowed us to come to understand the exemplary work of articulating theory and practice that GIFRIC has carried out in Quebec City, raising its cultural profile around the world. It would be disgraceful for Quebec to lose the center for treatment that has been a cornerstone of these world-renowned clinical and theoretical advancements, just when, for example, A Psychoanalysis for a Re-emergent Humanity: the Metapsychology of Willy Apollon, a collection of essays edited by Lucie Cantin, Jeffrey Librett, and Tracy McNulty that presents and elaborates upon the major theoretical contribution to Lacanian psychoanalysis constituted by Willy Apollon’s conceptualizations of psychosis and mondialisation, is forthcoming in the prestigious Insinuations series with SUNY Press.³

At the core of all of this conceptual work–which includes a new theory of the historical age in which we live, a new theory of adolescence in modernity, and other important innovations–is the treatment offered to psychotic young adults. It is deplorable, absurd, and outrageous that the young adults currently at the 388 should be currently threatened with the loss of the effective, dignified, and humane treatment they are currently receiving, and that they should be told by the government health service that in its place they will receive the conventional modes of treatment that have been shown to be for them ineffectual. The treatment offered at the 388 has allowed its analysts to pioneer an understanding of the symptoms and underlying causes of psychotic conditions. This understanding opens new possibilities for the young adults engaging in this treatment, including the opportunity to pursue various fields of study and research in higher education, as well as the opportunity to secure gainful employment in the city, where as the alternative is all too often entering the revolving door of institutionalization in psychiatric hospitals. As academics with jobs in institutions of higher education, we are directly confronted with the reality of the mental health crisis among young adults facing important choices for their future. The fact that the government health service thinks of closing the388 at a moment when New York Governor Hochul “passed a $1 billion plan to transform the mental health continuum of care, starting to make up for decades of disinvestment,” with a view to“healthier, safer and stronger” New Yorkers (governor.ny.gov Announcement January 14,2025) is plainly unreasonable, considering that the 388 has been operating effectively at a cost to the government of Quebec that is among the lowest per capita in the field of mental health care and dramatically less expensive than long-term commitment or hospitalization.

We urge the Government of the Province of Quebec and the C.I.U.S.S.S. (Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux) to reconsider this unwise decision–based on ideological presuppositions that are in line neither with advanced scientific and methodological discussions nor with the demonstrated practical results of the 388–and to instead continue to support this extraordinarily meritorious Center, which constitutes not only a precious resource for scholars, but above all a precious source of effective care for young adults in Quebec, and a model for potentially similar Centers around the globe.

Sincerely,

‍Tina Adkins
University of Texas at Austin
Research Professor

Alexa Albert
Seattle Psychoanalytic Society and Institute; University of Washington
Faculty

Sonia Alberti
Rio de Janeiro State University
Full Professor

Marta Aleksandrowicz
ICI Berlin
Affiliated Postdoctoral Fellow

Lara Allen
Pratt Institute
Adjunct Assistant Professor

Seth Alt
Claremont Graduate University
Independent Researcher

Rachit Anand
SUNY Buffalo
Visiting Assistant Professor

Heidi Arsenault
New York University
Researcher

Thamy Ayouch
Paris-Cité
Professor

Leo Baldwin-Ramult
University of Auckland
Professional Teaching Fellow

Paul Bell
The University of Edinburgh
Visiting Lecturer

Christopher Bell
University of Dallas
Assistant Professor of Psychology

Karen Benezra
Bard High School Early College
Assistant Professor, Bard High School Early College-Bronx

Anne Berger
University of Paris 8 Vincennes – Saint-Denis
Emerita Professor of Literature and Gender Studies

Henry Berlin
SUNY Buffalo
Associate Professor of Spanish

Marisa Berwald
University of California, Los Angeles
Health Researcher and clinical practitioner

Pietro Bianchi
University of Florida
Assistant Professor

Dror birger
Cornell University
Researcher

Nicholas Bosi
John Hopkins University
Researcher

Fabrice Bourlez
ESAD de Reims
Professor

Kirk Boyle
UNC Asheville
Associate Professor

Jerrold Brandell
Wayne State University
Distinguished Professor Emeritus

Emma Brijs
Ghent University
Researcher

Seth Brodsky
University of Chicago
Associate Professor

Nathan Brown
Concordia University
Professor of English, Canada Research Chair in Poetics

Marie Brown
New York University
Clinical Psychologist

Valerie Bryant
New York University
Faculty

Nancy Burke
Northwestern University
Associate Clinical Professor

Regina Cardenas
Newman Institute
Clinical Psychologist

David Carlson
Yale University
Clinical Professor

Shanna Carlson de la Torre
Lacan School of Psychoanalys
Researcher/Clinician

Carter Carter
University of Pennsylvania
Lecturer

Conall Cash
St. Francis Xavier University
Postdoctoral Fellow

Sheila Cavanagh
York University
Professor

Christopher Chamberlin
ICI Berlin
Affiliate Fellow

Marilyn Charles
Universidad de Monterrey (UDEM)
International Coordinator, Psychoanalytic Track

Arka Chattopadhya y
Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar
IIT Gandhinagar India,
Associate Professor

Jan Chess
JFK University
Adjunct Faculty

Laura Chiesa
SUNY Buffalo
Associate Professor

Jenine Chiles
The Chicago School
Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology

Elan Cohen
Soho Psychoanalytic
Clinical Psychologist & Postdoctoral Fellow

Alex Colston
Duquesne; Parapraxis
Deputy Editor

Joan Copjec
Brown University
Professor

Jake Cowan
Saint Mary's College of California
Assistant Professor of Rhetoric

Mikhail Davydov
University of California, Irvine
Graduate Researcher

Osvaldo de la Torre
N/A
Independent scholar

Tim Dean
University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign James M. Benson
Professor in English

Elham Dehghanipour
SUNY Buffalo
PhD in French

Adam Drury
SUNY Buffalo
Clinical Assistant Professor

Dries Dulsster
Ghent University
Educational Supervisor

Jessica Dunn
Duquesne
Clinical Psychologist

Kevin Duong
University of Virginia
Associate Professor of Politics

William Egginton
John Hopkins University
Professor

Patricia Ekpo
Brown University
Postdoctoral Research Associate

Amar El-Omari
Ghent University
doctoral researcher

Ryan Engley
Pomona College
Assistant Professor

Linda Ennis
York University
Lecturer

Patricia Escofet
Universidad de Buenos Aires
Profesora Filosofía del Derecho

Fabian Fajnwaks
University of Paris 8
Maître de conférences- département de psychanalyse -Université de Paris 8

Anthony Faramelli Goldsmiths
University of London
Lecturer

Nicholas Fazio
York University
PhD Candidate

Stephen Felder
Irvine Valley College
Professor of Humanities

Nina Fellows
The Open University
PhD Researcher

Jasper Feyaerts
Ghent University
Professor of Clinical Psychology

Matt Ffytche
University of Essex
Professor of Psychosocial and Psychoanalytic Studies

Ana Cristina Figueiredo
Federal University of Rio de Janeiro
Full professor

Dr. Adrian Flores
University of California, Santa Barbara
Research Fellow

Fabian Freyenhagen
University of Essex
Professor of Philosophy

Gavin Fridell
Saint Mary's University
Professor

Filip Galic
Cornell University
PhD Student

Maria Gallegos
UBA
JTP

Carol Ganzer
Institute for Clinical Social Work; Chicago Center for Psychoanalysis
Past President and board member

Michael Garfinkle
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry

Michael Garrett
SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University
Professor Emeritus of Clinical Psychiatry

Ana Gebrim
São Paulo School of Sociology and Politics Foundation
Professor

James Glogowski, PhD
SUNY Buffalo, Psychiatry (formerly)
Coordinator of Biobehavioral Research

James Godley
Dartmouth College
Lecturer

Jonathan Goldman
University of Montreal
Professor

Hannah Gordon
SUNY Buffalo
Adjunct Faculty and PHD candidate

Nathan Gorelick
Barnard College, Columbia University
English Professor

Aubrey Grant
Concordia University
PhD Candidate

Amy Graves Monroe
SUNY Buffalo
Faculty

Olivia Hadley-Beauregard
University of Victoria
Client Care Consultant

Gustavo Haiden
McGill University
PhD Candidate

Murphy Halliburton
CUNY
Professor of Anthropology

Steve Harp
DePaul University
Associate Professor

Ryan Hatch
California Polytechnic State University
Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies

Jon Hegglund
Washington State University
Professor of English

Toni Hellmann
William Alanson White Institute of Psychiatry, Psychoanalys is and Psychology
Supervisor of Psychotherapy

Jonah Henkle
New York University
Graduate Researcher

David Hensley
McGill University
Associate Professor

Amanda Holmes
University of Applied Arts, Vienna
Assistant Professor

Luz Horne
Universidad de San Andrés
Associate Professor

Sandra Huber
Concordia University
Lecturer

Robert Hullot Kentor
Long Island University
Emeritus Professor

Yianna Ioannou
University of Nicosia
Associate Professor

Jacob Johanssen
St. Mary's University

Adrian Johnston
University of New Mexico
Distinguished Professor of Philosophy

Claire Kahane
SUNY Buffalo
Professor of English Emerita

Walter Kalaidjian
Emory University
Professor

Ilan Kapoor
York University
Professor of Critical Development Studies at the Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change

Farshid Kazemi
Simon Fraser University
Lecturer

Paul Kingsbury
Simon Fraser University
Professor

Danielle Knafo
Long Island University-Post
Associate professor

Anna Kornbluh
University of Illinois Chicago
Professor

Victor Kouratovsky
ExpatPsy
Senior researcher

Anna Kreienberg
Duquesne University
PhD Candidate, Clinical Psychology

Alexi Kukuljevic
University of the Applied Arts Vienna
Assistant Professor

Carolyn Laubender
Universitiy of Essex
Assc Prof

Mary Libbey, Ph.D.
New York University
Teaching Faculty & Clinical Consultant | Contemporary Freudian Track, Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis

Jeffrey Librett
University of Oregon
Professor of German, and analyst in private practice

Emma Lieber
The New School
Part-Time Assistant Professor

Whit Lilly
Northwestern University
PhD Researcher

Lina Lissia
University of Cagliari (Italy)
Postdoctoral researcher

Marie Lizon
Gent University
PhD Researcher

Anna Carolina Lo Bianco
Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro
Full professor

Jelena Loncar
University of Belgrade
Researcher

Matthew Lovett
University of Pittsburgh
Teaching Assistant Professor

Jose Luiggi
Center for Research on Health Care
Assistant Professor of Medicine

Juliet Flower MacCannell
University of California, Irvine
Outstanding Professor Emerita

Janet Manina
GCAS College Dublin
Researcher

Thomas Marchevsky
California Institute of Integral Studies
Clinic Director and Adjunct Faculty

Elissa Marder
Emory University
Professor of French and Comparative Literature

James Martell
Lyon College
Associate Professor of Romance Languages

Diya Mathur
University of California, Irvine
PhD Researcher

Noëlle McAfee
Emory University
Professor and Chair of Philosophy

Robert McDonald
University of Kansas
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Todd McGowan
University of Vermont
Professor

Tracy McNulty
Cornell University
Professor of Comparative Literature

Nancy McWilliams
Rutgers University
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Reitske Meganck
Gent University
Associate professor

Erik Mertens
Gent University
Teaching Assistant

Bianca Messinger
SUNY Buffalo
PhD Researcher

Marshall Meyer
Johns Hopkins University
PhD Researcher

Steven Miller
SUNY Buffalo
Associate Professor

Alexander Miller
University of Essex
Senior Research Officer

Prof. Jon Mills
University of Essex
Honorary Professor

Ana Minozzo
University of Essex
Postdoctoral Researcher

Nienke Moernaut
Gent University
Postdoc

Iris Morrell
University of California, Irvine
PhD Researcher

Bethany Morris
Point Park University
Associate Professor

Ankhi Mukherje E
Oxford University - Wadham College
Professor of English and World Literatures

Fernanda Negrete
SUNY Buffalo
Director of the Center for the Study of Psychoanalysis & Culture

Hilary Neroni
University of Vermont
Professor

Patricia Noboa Ortega
University of Puerto Rico
Professor

Dany Nobus
Brunel University
Professor

Michael O'Loughlin
Adelphi University
Professor

Kathleen OConnor
Yale School of Public Health
Faculty

Rosemary Overell
Otago University (NZ)
Senior Lecturer

Ian Parker
University of Leicester
Honorary Professor of Education

Romain Pasquer Brochard
Union College
Visiting Assistant Professor of French

Karl-Josef Pazzini
Hamburg University
Professor

Rico Picone
St. Martin University
Associate Professor

Mark Pingree
Center for Modern Psychoanalytic Studies
Analyst in training

Ed Pluth
California State University, Chico
Professor

Klaus Poppensieker
San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis Faculty
Supervising Analyst

Candela Potente
International Psychoanalytic University Berlin
Postdoctoral Fellow

Isabel Powis
Fashion Institute of Technology
Researcher

Jesse Proudfoot
Durham University
Associate Professor

Bart Rabaey
Ghent University
Postdoctoral researcher

Jean-Michel Rabaté
University of Pennsylvania
Professor of English

Michelle Rada
Yale University
Postdoctoral Fellow

Peter Reiner
Northwestern University
Faculty

Richard Reinhardt
Art institute of Chicago
Lecturer

Sinan Richards
University College Cork
Lecturer

John Roberts
West Georgia University
Associate Professor of Psychology

Michael Ryzner- Basiewicz
Duquesne University
PhD Candidate - Clinical Psychology

ShahinSakhi
University of California, Los Angeles
MD, PhD

Donna San Antonio
Lesley University
Professor of Counseling Psychology

Margaux Schoofs
Ghent University
PhD

Dr. med. Hans Schultze-Jena
Hamburg
Psychiatrist and Psychoanalyst in Private Practice

Elaine Seitz
Adelphi University
Clinical Professor - Retired

David Seitz
Harvey Mudd College
Associate Professor of Cultural Geography

Charles Shepherdson
Albany University
Professor

Dr. Barry Shrem
Mount Sinai Hospital
Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry

Ilana SichelHarvard Medical SchoolInstructor of Psychiatry

Alois Sieben
University of Fraser Valley
Instructor

Ana Carolina Silva
SUNY Buffalo

Aparecida Silveira
UNIMONTE S
Researcher

James Slattery
University of Manchester
Lecturer

Mark Smaller
American Psychoanalytic Association
Past President

Evan Smith
Baruch College
Lecturer

Lotte Soffers
Ghent University
Doctoral Researcher

Jorna Sojati
University of Pittsburgh
PhD

Stephen Soldz
Boston Graduate School
Professor

Christina Soto van der Plas
Utrecht University
Assistant Professor

Manya Steinkoler
City University of New York
Professor

Elizabeth Stone
Centre Hospitalier Université (CHU) de Grenoble
Psychoanalyst

Benjamin Strosberg
Pacifica University
Associate Chair and Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology

Stephanie Swales
Dublin City University
Associate Professor & Assistant Professor

Aarati Taksal
Douglas Mental Health Institute
Research Coordinator

Molly Thomas
Australian National University
Previously Fellow, Chicago Center for Psychoanalysis; Visiting Research Fellow, Australian National University

Natascia Tosel
University of Verona (Italy)
Postdoc fellow

Claire Tranchino
SUNY Buffalo
Teaching Assistant

Jane Tucker
New York University
Adjunct Assistant Professor

Elizabeth Tyler
McDaniel University
Associate Professor

Ivan Urli
University of Split (Croatia)
Professor

Chris Vanderwees
St. John the Compassionate (Toronto)
Registered Psychotherapist, Clinical Supervisor

Stijn Vanheule
Gent University
Professor of clinical psychology and psychoanalysis

Wilfried Ver Eecke
Georgetown University
Professor

Evi Verbeke
Ghent University
Associate Professor

Elena Vogman
Bauhaus University Weimar
Postdoctoral Researcher

Kevin Volkan
California State University Channel Islands
Professor of Psychology

Florian Walch
University of Chicago
Teaching Fellow

Gavin Walker
Cornell University
Professor of Comparative Literature

Lissa Weinstein
City College of New York
Full Professor

Martin Winn
Columbia University
Faculty/Supervisor

Jenny Woods
Centre for Lacanian Analysis
Clinical Training Lead

Melissa Wright
Barnard College, Columbia University
Affiliate Faculty, English; Executive Director, Center for Engaged Pedagogy

Hyon Joo Yoo
University of Vermont
Associate Professor

Negin Zamani
McGill University
Researcher

Ewa Ziarek
SUNY Buffalo
Professor

Dr. Susan Zoline
Adler University
Full Professor, Core Faculty PsyD program

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¹ Mills and Downing (eds.) Lacan on Psychosis: From Theory to Praxis.Routledge, 2019; Vanderwees, C. “Treating Psychosis in Québec with theFounders of GIFRIC and The 388 with Willy Apollon, Danielle Bergeron, and Lucie Cantin.” On the History and Transmission of Lacanian Psychoanalysis, Vol.1. United Kingdom: Routledge,2024, pp. 31-56.

² Le Traitement psychanalytique des psychoses. Sa clinique et ses résultats. Gifric, 2024.

³ Cantin,L., Librett, J., McNulty, T. (eds.). A Psychoanalysis for a Reemergent Humanity: The Metapsychology of Willy Apollon. Albany,New York: SUNY Press (Forthcoming).

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