An Ethical Evaluation of Psychoanalytically Oriented Psychotherapy Sessions

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Celik E., SAKLI DEMİRBAŞ Y.

AYNA KLINIK PSIKOLOJI DERGISI-AYNA CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY JOURNAL, vol.13, no.1, pp.240-260, 2026 (ESCI, TRDizin)

Abstract

Ethics, as a discipline, primarily focuses on the question of what an individual ought to do. However, in Lacanian psychoanalytic theory, ethics acquires a distinct meaning, being defined through the subject's fidelity to their own desire. According to Lacan, an ethical stance is grounded not in moral imperatives, but in the principle of "not giving up one's desire." This approach removes ethics from an external, normative system and transforms it into an internal orientation directed toward subjective truth. In this context, desire functions as a fundamental principle that shapes ethical positioning within the analytic process. Understanding how this principle operates in practice is, therefore, crucial for comprehending the functioning of Lacanian ethics in clinical settings. This study examines the clinical implications of Lacanian ethics, particularly within the framework of psychotherapy sessions conducted in psychoanalytically oriented therapies. These processes are evaluated through key psychoanalytic concepts such as resistance, transference, the analyst's desire and the desire to be an analyst with a discussion of how these dynamics may emerge and be addressed in clinical encounters. Furthermore, the central role of the therapist's undergoing analysis and receiving supervision in maintaining the sustainability of the analytic position is also considered. In this context, by placing ethics at the core of psychoanalytic practice, the study emphasizes the dual ethical responsibility assumed by both the therapist and the patient in psychoanalytically oriented sessions.