Most people searching for a therapist online have never heard of Jacques Lacan. If you have, it's probably because you stumbled across some dense academic text and closed the tab immediately. That's a reasonable response.
But Lacanian psychoanalysis, stripped of the jargon, is one of the most practical and deeply effective forms of therapy available — particularly for people who feel stuck in patterns they can't quite explain, or who've tried other approaches and found that something important is still missing.
In my practice, I work with clients online across Australia using a Lacanian approach. This article explains what that actually means — how it works, how it differs from other therapies, and whether it might be what you're looking for.
What Is Lacanian Psychoanalysis?
Jacques Lacan was a French psychoanalyst who spent several decades rethinking the ideas of Sigmund Freud. His central insight — the one that shapes everything I do in my practice — is that much of what drives us operates outside our conscious awareness. Not in a mysterious or frightening way. Just in the way that most of us move through life guided by patterns, assumptions, and reactions that we've never really stopped to examine.
Lacan observed that the unconscious is structured like a language. That means it expresses itself through the way we speak — through repetitions, through what we avoid saying, through the words that catch us off guard, through the contradictions we don't notice until someone else points them out.
In practical terms, Lacanian psychoanalysis is about listening very carefully to what a person says, and how they say it. Not to judge it, interpret it away, or fit it into a model of what 'normal' should look like — but to hear what is actually there.
The unconscious isn't some dark, unknowable force. It's simply the parts of yourself you haven't had a proper chance to listen to yet.
How It Differs from CBT and Other Short-Term Therapies
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is the most common form of therapy recommended through mainstream healthcare channels in Australia. It's effective for a lot of people, and I don't dismiss it. But it works differently to what I do, and the difference is worth understanding.
CBT addresses symptoms directly. If you're anxious, you learn to identify the thought patterns driving that anxiety and replace them with more helpful ones. If you're stuck in a behaviour, you work on changing it. That can produce real improvement, particularly in the short term.
Lacanian work asks a different question: what does this symptom mean for this particular person?
The same symptom — say, anxiety in social situations — might be saying something completely different for two different people. One person's anxiety might be protecting a deep belief that they're fundamentally unlovable. Another's might be tied to a specific moment from childhood that was never fully processed. A third might be carrying something that was never really theirs to carry in the first place.
Treating the symptom without understanding what it's doing there can produce temporary relief. But the underlying structure often remains intact, and symptoms tend to return — sometimes in a different form.
There are no worksheets in my sessions. No homework, no checklists, no techniques to practise between appointments. What I offer is something slower and more thorough: a genuine attempt to understand what is actually driving someone's experience, at the level where it operates.
What a Session Actually Looks Like
The format is simple. You talk, and I listen carefully.
There's no agenda, no script, no topic you're supposed to cover. You say whatever comes to mind — and that's not as straightforward as it sounds. Most of us are used to filtering what we say, shaping it to be coherent or acceptable or useful. In this work, the filtering is part of what we're interested in.
I might ask a question that opens something up. I might reflect back a word you used in a way that's worth pausing on. I'm listening not just to the content of what you say, but to the structure — the patterns, the repetitions, the moments where something shifts or shuts down without an obvious reason.
Sometimes what surprises you in what you say is exactly where the important work begins. A word that comes out differently than you intended. A connection you didn't realise you were making. A feeling that doesn't match the story you've been telling yourself.
The work happens through speech. That's it. No exercises, no handouts, no guided relaxation. Just careful, sustained attention to what you're saying and what it might be telling us.
Sessions are conducted entirely online, which means you can access this kind of support from wherever you are in Australia — from your home, your office, wherever you have a reliable connection and some privacy.
Who Is This Kind of Work For?
Lacanian psychoanalysis tends to resonate with people who:
Feel stuck in repeating patterns. The same kinds of relationships that don't work. The same arguments that never resolve. The same self-sabotage at moments that matter. If you recognise that pattern in yourself and want to understand it at its root, this work is worth exploring.
Have tried other approaches without lasting change. This isn't a criticism of those approaches. It's simply that different methods reach different depths. Some people do several rounds of CBT or mindfulness-based therapy and feel better for a while, then find themselves back in the same place. If that describes you, something operating at a deeper level may not have been addressed yet.
Want to understand themselves more deeply. Not everyone who comes to me is in crisis. Some are functioning well but feel that their life is somehow smaller than it should be — that there are parts of themselves they haven't had access to, or choices they keep making without fully understanding why.
Are dealing with anxiety, depression, or relationship difficulties that feel structural rather than situational. There's a difference between anxiety triggered by a specific difficult period, and anxiety that's been present in various forms for as long as you can remember. The second kind tends to respond better to work that looks at the structure beneath the surface.
Common Misconceptions
"Isn't it cold and detached?"
This is probably the most common thing people assume. In reality, the sessions I conduct are warm and human. I'm not sitting in silence waiting for you to have a breakthrough. I'm engaged, present, and genuinely curious about what you're describing. The work takes the person seriously — which, frankly, is one of the most respectful things a therapist can do.
"Isn't it just for intellectuals or academics?"
No. Lacan's ideas are written in dense academic language — I'll grant you that — but the practice doesn't require any theoretical knowledge at all. You don't need to have read anything. You don't need to know what a 'signifier' is. You just need to be willing to speak honestly, and to let the process unfold.
"Doesn't it take decades?"
Some analyses are long — the work can go deep, and some people choose to continue for years because they find ongoing value in it. But it's not a multi-decade commitment by default. People come for different lengths of time depending on what they're working on. What I won't do is promise a six-session fix, because that's rarely how real, lasting change works.
"Can this actually work online?"
In my experience, yes. The work happens through speech and careful listening, and both of those things transfer well to an online setting. Many of my clients have found the online format more comfortable than sitting in an office — there's something about being in your own space that can actually make it easier to speak freely.
Ready to Find Out More?
If any of this resonates with you, the next step is a conversation. I work entirely online with clients across Australia.
Visit counsellingtherapymelbourne.com.au to learn more or make contact.