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Lacan's Mirror Stage and the Gaze | Psychology Paper Example

"The object-cause of desire," Julian explained. "It’s not the object we desire; it’s the cause of our desire. It’s the ghost of that original wholeness we lost. I look at you, and I don't just see Elena. I see the potential for my own completion. I project that onto you. I think, 'If she loves me, I will be whole.' But it’s a fantasy." Lacan's Mirror Stage and the Gaze | Psychology

Why is Lacan rarely taught in clinical psychology undergraduate degrees? Because he was hostile to "normative" adjustment. Where cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) wants to manage symptoms, Lacanian analysis wants to articulate the truth of desire. Where psychiatry wants to medicate the subject, Lacan wants to listen to the puns, slips, and jokes that leak from the unconscious. I look at you, and I don't just see Elena