ICD-11: A Neuropsychoanalytic Perspective

“Course Syllabus: ICD-11: A Neuropsychoanalytic Perspective”.

Webinar Structure (120 Minutes Each)

• Part 1: Theoretical Foundations & Neurobiology (60 min)
• Part 2: Clinical Translation & Case Analysis (45 min)
• Part 3: Interactive Q&A & Group Discussion (15 min)

Schedule of Webinars

Webinar 1: Foundational Frameworks — Subjectivity, Brain, and Taxonomy – 2027 March 6.

• Lecture (60 min):
  • The paradigm shift from ICD-10/DSM-5 categorical models to ICD-11 dimensional frameworks.
  • Introduction to Neuropsychoanalysis: Dual-aspect monism and the epistemological bridge.
  • Solms’ revision of Freud: The conscious Id (subcortical primary affect) vs. the unconscious Ego (cortical automatization).
• Clinical Seminar (45 min): Comparing a traditional third-person diagnostic intake with a first-person neuropsychoanalytic assessment.
• Q&A (15 min)

Webinar 2: The Affective Core — Panksepp’s Emotional Systems & Mood Clusters – 2027 March 20.

• Lecture (60 min):
  • Panksepp’s 7 primary emotional systems (SEEKING, FEAR, RAGE, LUST, CARE, PANIC/GRIEF, PLAY).
  • Mapping primary emotional dysregulation onto ICD-11 Depressive (6A70) and Fear-Related Disorders (6B00/6B01).
  • Anhedonia as a shutdown of the mesolimbic SEEKING system vs. hyperactive PANIC/GRIEF circuits.
• Clinical Seminar (45 min): Mapping an ICD-11 Major Depression profile onto subcortical drive dynamics.
• Q&A (15 min)

Webinar 3: ICD-11 Personality Disorders — Severity, Traits, & Neural Networks – 2027 April 3.

• Lecture (60 min):
  • Dimensional severity grading (Mild, Moderate, Severe) mapped onto Kernberg’s levels of Ego Organization.
  • Psychoanalytic translation of the 5 Trait Domains: Negative Affectivity, Detachment, Dissociality, Disinhibition, and Anankastia.
  • Triple-Network Architecture (Salience Network, DMN, CEN) in Borderline Personality dynamics.
• Clinical Seminar (45 min): Structural case analysis of a patient with High Negative Affectivity and Disinhibition.
• Q&A (15 min)

Webinar 4: Trauma, CPTSD, and Dissociation — Unrepresented States – 2027 April 17.

• Lecture (60 min):
  • Complex PTSD (CPTSD, 6B41) in ICD-11: Disturbances in Self-Organization (DSO) and the “Alien Self” (Fonagy).
  • Dissociative Neurological Symptom Disorder (DNSD) vs. classical conversion: Corticofugal inhibition of sensory-motor circuits.
  • Repression (symbolized) vs. Dissociation (un-thought, raw somatic states).
• Clinical Seminar (45 min): Formulating a treatment plan for CPTSD with severe somatic dissociation.
• Q&A (15 min)

Webinar 5: Addiction & Impulse Control — Hijacking the SEEKING Circuit – 2027 May 8.

• Lecture (60 min):
  • Disorders due to substance use (6C10–6C1E) and behavioral addictions (Gambling 6C50, Gaming 6C51) in ICD-11.
  • Incentive Sensitization (Berridge & Robinson): The neurobiological split between “Wanting” (dopamine) and “Liking” (opioids).
  • Self-medication hypothesis and the Ventral-to-Dorsal Striatal shift (from impulse to habit).
• Clinical Seminar (45 min): Decoding the primary affect being self-medicated in compulsive behavioral loops.
• Q&A (15 min)

Webinar 6: Neurodevelopmental Conditions — Predictive Processing & Bodily Ego – 2027 May 22.

• Lecture (60 min):
  • Autism Spectrum Disorder (6A02) and ADHD (6A05) across the lifespan in ICD-11.
  • Predictive processing errors and high-precision sensory prediction errors in ASD.
  • Repetitive behaviors (“stimming”) as bodily ego-defenses; PLAY circuit dynamics in adult ADHD.
• Clinical Seminar (45 min): Differentiating autistic sensory meltdown from borderline affective flooding.
• Q&A (15 min)

Webinar 7: Somatoform & Bodily Distress Disorders — The Somatic Ego – 2027 May 29.

• Lecture (60 min):
  • Bodily Distress Disorder (BDD, 6C20) in ICD-11: Beyond exclusion of organic disease to positive psychological criteria.
  • Freud’s “Bodily Ego” and interoceptive mapping in the Posterior and Anterior Insula.
  • Alexithymia and the breakdown of the Symbolization Cascade (Primary \rightarrow Tertiary processing).
• Clinical Seminar (45 min): Applying Bion’s “Alpha Function” to bridge visceral distress to emotional vocabulary.
• Q&A (15 min)

Webinar 8: Clinical Synthesis — The 5-Step Case Formulation Protocol – 2027 June 05.

• Lecture (60 min):
  • The Dual-Axis Formulation Protocol: Bridging Third-Person Taxonomy (ICD-11) with First-Person Dynamics.
  • Matching therapeutic stance (Expressive vs. Supportive/Containing) to the patient’s structural brain-mind capacity.
  • Summary of key neuropsychoanalytic treatment principles across the spectrum.
• Clinical Seminar (45 min): Live group construction of a full multi-axial ICD-11 diagnosis and neuropsychoanalytic formulation for a complex clinical case.
• Q&A & Course Wrap-up (15 min)

Recommended Core Reading List

• Solms, M. (2021). The Hidden Spring: A Journey to the Source of Consciousness. W. W. Norton & Company.
• Panksepp, J., & Biven, L. (2012). The Archaeology of Mind: Neuroevolutionary Origins of Human Emotions. W. W. Norton & Company.
• World Health Organization. (2019/2022). ICD-11: Clinical descriptions and diagnostic guidelines for mental, behavioral or neurodevelopmental disorders (CDDG).
• Kernberg, O. F. (2015). Neurobiology, psychoanalysis, and the personality disorders. Psychodynamic Psychiatry, 43(1), 5–36.

About the Instructor