Psychoanalytical Psychotherapist, Counsellor

Most of us have never
been fully listened to.

“Psychoanalytic treatment is, after all, a cure through love.”
Sigmund Freud

In psychotherapy, love is not sentimentality. It is the disciplined effort to understand another person’s subjective world.

Therapy offers a space where your thoughts, emotions, and experiences can be explored without judgement and without haste. Through being deeply understood, new ways of relating to yourself and to others can gradually emerge.

Behind my work are three principles that continue to shape how I listen, think, and practise.

LinkedIn Psychology Today

Portrait of psychotherapist Evgeniya Smith

EVGENIYA SMITH — A Space to Think

A Space for Understanding

How I Work

A thoughtful, collaborative space for understanding the patterns, relationships and experiences that shape your inner world.

01

Who I Work With

I work with adults aged 18 and over, in person on the Gold Coast, Australia, and online with clients worldwide.

02

My Clinical Approach

My clinical work is grounded in the psychoanalytic tradition, with a particular interest in relational psychoanalysis.

03

Working Together

Psychotherapy is a collaborative exploration of the emotional patterns, relationships, and experiences that shape how you live, feel, and connect with others.

Through careful listening and shared reflection, patterns that once felt fixed can gradually become more understandable — and new ways of living and relating can begin to emerge.

04

Free Association

You are invited to speak freely about whatever feels important — thoughts, emotions, memories, dreams, relationships, or experiences that arise.

05

Curious Exploration

Together, we gradually explore unconscious patterns with curiosity rather than judgement, allowing a deeper understanding of your inner world to develop.

06

Lasting Change

As understanding deepens, new possibilities for change, emotional freedom, and more satisfying relationships can gradually emerge.

EVGENIYA SMITH — A Space to Think

A SPACE FOR OPEN CONVERSATION

Therapy begins with
being able to speak freely.

Sessions take the form of a face-to-face conversation. You are invited to speak freely about whatever feels important, including thoughts, emotions, memories, dreams, relationships, or experiences that arise during the session.

Rather than offering quick advice or ready-made solutions, I listen carefully, ask questions, make observations, and share reflections that may help bring unconscious patterns into awareness.

UNDERSTANDING PATTERNS

Understanding what shapes the way we relate.

Many of our ways of relating to ourselves and to others develop long before we are consciously aware of them. Together, we gradually explore these patterns with curiosity rather than judgement.

As understanding deepens, new possibilities for change, emotional freedom, and more satisfying relationships can emerge.

BEYOND SYMPTOMS

Psychotherapy is not simply
about reducing symptoms.

It is also an opportunity to develop a richer understanding of yourself, your inner world, and the meanings behind your experiences.

EVGENIYA SMITH — A Space to Think

01 REFLECTION

Ongoing Personal Therapy
and Clinical Supervision

I believe that becoming a psychotherapist is an ongoing process rather than a destination. Alongside professional knowledge, it requires continuous self-reflection and emotional development.

I participate in weekly psychoanalytic supervision and weekly personal therapy. These are an essential part of my clinical practice, helping me remain thoughtful, reflective, and attentive to each client’s unique experience.

02 THE PERSON

Seeing the Person
Beyond the Problem

Psychological difficulties do not exist in isolation from the person who experiences them. Rather than focusing solely on symptoms or diagnoses, I seek to understand each client within the context of their personality, relationships, life history, and emotional world.

Every person brings a unique story to therapy, and that uniqueness shapes the therapeutic process.

03 DEVELOPMENT

Lifelong Learning

My academic training includes a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Psychoanalysis from the East European Institute of Psychoanalysis (VEIP) and a Master’s degree in Counselling and Psychotherapy from the Australian College of Applied Psychology (ACAP).

Professional development is an ongoing commitment. I regularly attend advanced training courses, participate in psychoanalytic reading groups, and engage with contemporary clinical literature.

I am currently undertaking the Infant Observation psychoanalytic training programme through the International Centre for Advanced Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy (ICAPP), a programme that develops disciplined observation and deepens the understanding of early emotional development and the therapeutic relationship.

EVGENIYA SMITH — A Space to Think

Finding Yourself

Feeling lost, uncertain about who you are or what you want, a sense of emptiness, difficulty making important life decisions, or a desire to better understand yourself.

Self-Esteem and
Self-Worth

Persistent self-doubt, harsh self-criticism, perfectionism, dissatisfaction with yourself, difficulty accepting compliments, or constantly comparing yourself to others.

Relationships

Difficulties in romantic relationships, family conflict, friendships, workplace relationships, loneliness, fear of intimacy, repeated relationship patterns, or painful breakups.

Trauma, Grief,
and Loss

The emotional impact of childhood experiences, abuse, neglect, loss of a loved one, divorce, or other events that continue to affect your life today.

Emotional
Difficulties

Anxiety, depression, stress, burnout, anger, emotional overwhelm, feelings of emptiness, sleep difficulties, or struggling to cope with life’s challenges.

Personality and
Personal Growth

Long-standing emotional or relationship difficulties, personality disorders, identity questions, or a wish to understand yourself more deeply and create lasting change.

EVGENIYA SMITH — A Space to Think

I have been working in private psychotherapy practice since 2021.

I am a certified practising counsellor of the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA) and a member of the European Confederation of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapies (ECPP).

CPC Certified
Practising
Counsellor

PROFESSIONAL TRAINING

My professional qualifications include postgraduate training in counselling and psychotherapy, undergraduate education in psychology and psychoanalysis, and ongoing advanced psychoanalytic training.

View my academic degrees, professional memberships, registrations, and certificates.

01

Since 2021

Working in private psychotherapy practice with adults.

02

Professional Memberships

PACFA certified practising counsellor and ECPP member.

03

Academic &
Clinical Training

Postgraduate counselling and psychotherapy training with ongoing psychoanalytic development.

04

Qualifications &
Certificates

Formal degrees, professional registrations, certificates, and continuing development.

EVGENIYA SMITH — A Space to Think

IN ENGLISH

Psychotherapy, Relationships
& Emotional Wellbeing

Psychotherapy, relationships, emotional wellbeing, and psychoanalytic reflections.

НА РУССКОМ

Психотерапия, психоанализ
и внутренний мир

Статьи о психотерапии, психоанализе и внутреннем мире человека.

Most of us have neverbeen fully listened to.

Most of us have never
been fully listened to.