Lacanian Psychoanalysis
Jacques Lacan's psychoanalytic approach based on a return to Freud through structural linguistics, asserting the unconscious is structured like a language and using variable-length sessions.
Presentation
Lacanian psychoanalysis is the psychoanalytic school developed by Jacques Lacan (1901–1981), French psychiatrist and psychoanalyst. Lacan proposed a 'return to Freud' through structural linguistics, reformulating Freudian concepts within an innovative theoretical framework.
Lacan's central formula — 'the unconscious is structured like a language' — means that unconscious formations (dreams, slips, symptoms) operate through the same mechanisms as language: metaphor (Freud's condensation) and metonymy (Freud's displacement).
Founder: Jacques Lacan (1901–1981), psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, Paris, France
Core Principles
Three registers: Real (what escapes symbolization), Symbolic (language, law, culture) and Imaginary (identifications, body image, ego) — knotted together like a Borromean knot.
The signifier: the basic unit of the unconscious. The subject is 'effect of the signifier.'
The big Other: the locus of language and symbolic law. The subject constitutes itself in relation to the Other's desire.
Objet petit a: the object-cause of desire, that elusive remainder setting desire in motion.
Variable-length sessions: sessions may be interrupted when a key signifier emerges, creating a cut that relaunches unconscious work.
Main Indications
- Neuroses (hysteria, obsessional neurosis, phobia)
- Neurotic and borderline personality structures
- Symptomatic inhibitions and repetitions
- Questions of desire and jouissance
- Suffering linked to subjective position
- Relational and romantic impasses
Session Overview
Lacanian analysis is practiced lying on a couch for analyses proper, or face-to-face for Lacanian-oriented psychotherapies. The most distinctive feature is variable-length sessions: instead of fixed 45-50 minutes, sessions may last from a few minutes to over an hour. The analyst punctuates the session when a key signifier emerges.
The Lacanian analyst listens for signifiers — surprising words, slips, equivocations, involuntary wordplay. Interventions are sparse: punctuation, scansion, interpretation or silence. The cure aims at 'traversing the fantasy' and the subject's assumption of their own desire.
Variations and Sub-techniques
- Lacanian analytic cure
- Lacanian-oriented psychotherapy
- Case presentation (Lacanian clinical tradition)
- Applied psychoanalysis
- Lacanian child psychoanalysis
Contraindications
- Unstabilized psychosis
- Exclusive demand for rapid symptom suppression
- Inability to tolerate uncertainty
- Severe active addiction without parallel addictology support
Medical Disclaimer
The information presented in this article is provided for educational and informational purposes only. It does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment prescription. If in doubt, always consult your physician or a qualified healthcare professional. The techniques described do not replace conventional medical treatment.