Pass

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The Pass Procedure (French: la procédure de la passe) is an innovative institutional and epistemological mechanism in Lacanian psychoanalysis, first introduced by Jacques Lacan in 1967. Its purpose is to allow a person who has undergone psychoanalysis to testify to the end of their analysis and potentially be recognized as an Analyst of the School (Analyste de l’École, AE). The Pass seeks to formalize the transition from analysand to analyst by centering subjective transformation rather than bureaucratic credentials or professional norms.

Unique to the Lacanian orientation, the Pass is practiced within psychoanalytic schools affiliated with the World Association of Psychoanalysis (WAP). It originated in Lacan’s École Freudienne de Paris (EFP) and remains one of the most distinctive and controversial institutions in psychoanalytic history.

Historical Context

Institutional Background

The Pass was proposed in 1967, three years after Lacan founded the École Freudienne de Paris in response to his exclusion from the International Psychoanalytical Association (IPA) and longstanding disputes over psychoanalytic training.[1] Lacan sought to confront the problem of analytic authorization: how one becomes recognized as an analyst without relying on institutional credentialism.

In the founding text of the Pass, Lacan described the opaque moment when the analysand becomes an analyst as a problem the School must attempt to clarify:

"This dark cloud that covers this juncture I am concerned with here, the one at which the psychoanalysand passes to becoming a psychoanalyst—that is what our School can work at dissipating."[2]

Theoretical Foundations

The End of Analysis

At the core of the Pass lies the question of the end of analysis, understood not as a mystical event but as a transformation that must be articulated in language.[3] For Lacan, an analysis reaches its conclusion when the analysand acquires knowledge (savoir) of their fantasy, desire, and subjective division, and no longer seeks meaning from the Other.

The Pass was designed as a means to make this passage transmissible, allowing the School to study what constitutes an analyst beyond technique or clinical competence.

The Desire of the Analyst

A central concept underlying the Pass is the desire of the analyst (désir de l’analyste). Lacan famously stated:

"The analyst is authorized only by himself."[4]


This declaration does not eliminate the School but redefines its role. The Pass does not confer authorization; rather, it provides a space where the analyst’s desire can be articulated and examined. Authorization remains subjective, while recognition becomes a matter of transmission.

Procedure and Structure

The Pass is distinguished by its non-hierarchical and experiential structure. It does not certify analysts but produces psychoanalytic knowledge through testimony.

Participants

The procedure involves three roles:

  • The Passant – the analysand who testifies to the conclusion of their analysis
  • The Passeurs – two analysands who receive the testimony and transmit it
  • The Jury or Pass Commission – a group that evaluates the testimony and may nominate the candidate as Analyst of the School[5]

Process

The passant gives an account of their analysis to two passeurs separately. The passeurs then report independently to the jury. The jury deliberates and may nominate the passant as an Analyst of the School.

There are no predefined evaluative criteria, as each analysis is singular. Candidates who are not nominated may reapply. Participation in the Pass is voluntary and does not confer any legal or professional status.[6]

AE and AME

Within Lacan’s École Freudienne de Paris, two titles were distinguished:

  • Analyst of the School (AE) – designated through the Pass
  • Analyst Member of the School (AME) – recognized for clinical practice and institutional commitment, independent of the Pass[7]

The AE designation emphasizes testimony and teaching rather than authority or hierarchy.

Institutional History

Conflict within the EFP

The Pass provoked intense controversy. In 1968, figures such as Piera Aulagnier, François Perrier, and Jean-Paul Valabrega resigned from the EFP, rejecting what they viewed as the institutional risks of the Pass.[8]

Despite opposition, Lacan insisted on maintaining the procedure. In 1974, he advised Italian Lacanians to found a school grounded in the Pass itself.[9]

Deauville and Lacan’s Verdict

At a meeting in Deauville in January 1978, Lacan expressed dissatisfaction with the outcomes of the Pass:

"The Pass really is a complete failure."[10]

This statement has been widely interpreted not as a repudiation but as an acknowledgment of the difficulty of institutionalizing subjective transformation.

After the Dissolution of the EFP

Following the dissolution of the EFP in 1980, some Lacanian groups abandoned the Pass, while others—most notably the École de la Cause freudienne—retained and refined it.[11]

In 1992, the Pass became central to schools affiliated with the World Association of Psychoanalysis.[12]

Conceptual Importance

The Pass is neither an examination nor a clinical assessment. It is an attempt to study the emergence of the analyst as a subjective position. It transforms a private analytic experience into a contribution to collective knowledge.

The AE is expected to testify publicly, allowing the School to examine the ethics, logic, and limits of psychoanalysis.[13]

Criticism

Critics argue that the Pass lacks transparency, risks elitism, and substitutes testimony for supervision. These critiques motivated the formation of groups such as the Quatrième Groupe (OPLF), which rejected the Pass.[14]

Supporters counter that the Pass preserves the ethical radicality of psychoanalysis by resisting technocratic normalization.

The Pass Today

The Pass remains active in Lacanian Schools worldwide. Testimonies are presented at international congresses and published in journals such as Scilicet. Contemporary AEs address themes including ordinary psychosis, gender, trauma, and jouissance, demonstrating the procedure’s ongoing relevance.

See Also

References

  1. ↑ Lacan, Jacques. "Proposition du 9 octobre 1967 sur le psychanalyste de l’École," in Autres Écrits. Paris: Seuil, 2001.
  2. ↑ Lacan, Jacques. "Proposition of 9 October 1967 on the Psychoanalyst of the School," trans. Russell Grigg, Analysis 6 (1995): 1–13.
  3. ↑ Scilicet, nos. 2–3, 1970.
  4. ↑ Lacan, Jacques. "Discours du 6 décembre 1967," Scilicet, nos. 2–3.
  5. ↑ Roudinesco, Élisabeth. Jacques Lacan. New York: Columbia University Press, 1997.
  6. ↑ Lacan, Jacques. "Proposition of 9 October 1967," p. 14.
  7. ↑ Miller, Jacques-Alain. "Sur la passe," Ornicar? 12–13 (1977).
  8. ↑ Aulagnier, P., Mannoni, M., Perrier, F., Valabrega, J.-P., Analytica, no. 7 (1978).
  9. ↑ Lacan, Jacques. "Note italienne," Ornicar? 25 (1982).
  10. ↑ Lettres de l’École, April 1978.
  11. ↑ Rose, Jacqueline. On Not Being Able to Sleep. London: Vintage, 2003.
  12. ↑ Association Mondiale de Psychanalyse, official site.
  13. ↑ Miller, Jacques-Alain. "Ordinary Psychosis," Psychoanalytical Notebooks, no. 12 (2004).
  14. ↑ Nobus, Dany and Malcolm Quinn. Knowing Nothing, Staying Stupid. London: Routledge, 2005.
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