Many people seek out therapy because something doesn’t sit well. It might take the form of anxiety, unease, or ongoing difficulty in relationships or work. Sometimes it’s a mood that lingers, or a sense that one is out of step even if it’s hard to say why. Often, the words to name what’s wrong don’t quite come. And yet, something insists.
In my practice in Melbourne, I offer psychoanalytic therapy. This is not a method of giving advice, strategies, or interpretations. It is a space where you are invited to speak — not in search of immediate answers, but to give time to what you are already saying, sometimes without realising it.
This article offers a brief introduction to what psychoanalytic therapy is, how I work, and what this process might make possible for you.
What Is Psychoanalytic Therapy?
Psychoanalytic therapy is a conversation, but not an ordinary one. You are not asked to follow a script, or to work toward a goal. You are invited to speak freely: about thoughts, moments, memories, dreams, or difficulties. Nothing is too small or too strange to be said.
This kind of speaking can be unfamiliar. In everyday life, we’re often expected to stay on topic, to explain ourselves, or to make sense. But in analysis, there is room to speak without needing to know what will come next. This kind of speaking allows something to emerge not a solution handed down, but a shift that comes through your own words, in your own time.
As a psychoanalyst, I listen not to judge or direct you, but to hear where something may be trying to make itself heard. The question is not simply what happened to you, but how does this speak through you now?
Those seeking psychoanalysis in Melbourne often find that this open-ended and reflective method offers a unique path toward deeper understanding and healing.
What Happens in a Session?
Sessions take place at a regular time, usually once or more a week. You arrive, and you speak. That is how the work begins. There is no set topic and no pressure to be coherent. You might begin with something from your day, or something remembered unexpectedly. You may find yourself saying things that surprise you.
I do not take notes while you talk, offer techniques, or try to control the direction of the session. My role is to listen — to attend to your speech, its rhythms, gaps, slips, and hesitations and, at times, to intervene with a question or interpretation that marks something you may not have noticed.
In the Lacanian school, speech is central. The work is not in explaining or analysing yourself, but in allowing something singular something that concerns you to be said. Over time, this can bring a kind of movement in your relation to yourself, your body, your enjoyment, and the people around you.
Who Is This Work For?
There is no checklist that determines who can begin therapy. I work with people who are facing a wide range of difficulties, including:
- Anxiety or persistent worry
- Struggles with belonging, or self-worth
- Relationship difficulties
- A sense of disconnection from others, or from one’s own life
- Lingering effects of past experiences
- A wish to speak — even when it’s unclear about what at first
You do not need a diagnosis, a plan, or even a clear question. Often people come because they find themselves caught in something they cannot easily name, and yet cannot seem to avoid.
Psychoanalytic work begins not with knowing, but with a will to speak.
About My Practice in Melbourne
I offer psychoanalytic therapy from two locations of Hawthorn and Belgrave as well as online. My clinical work is supported by years of study and practice in the field of psychoanalysis, including ongoing engagement with Lacanian theory and supervision.
As a clinical psychologist in Melbourne, I offer a confidential space, one that respects each person’s way of speaking, and their particular questions. No two analyses are alike. Each unfolds according to what the person brings and what their speaking begins to touch.
Whether you are experiencing something acute, or are simply unsure about what you want, you are welcome to begin from where you are.
How to Begin
If you are considering this, you may contact me to make a booking. In this first meeting, we speak about what brings you and whether this space might be of use to you.
You do not need to have the right words only the wish to try and say something, even if it is uncertain.
Final Words
Psychoanalytic therapy offers a different kind of space one that makes room for what doesn’t quite fit into everyday explanations. It is a place where you speak, and are heard, without being corrected, directed, or reassured. It is not an easy path, but for those who stay with it, it can open the way to living otherwise.
If you are in Melbourne, or elsewhere and prefer to work online, you are welcome to reach out to begin this work. You can learn more or contact me through my website, Bita Psychology.