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Brain Imaging Investigation of the Neural Correlates of Observing Virtual Social Interactions
Published on: July 6, 2011
[New kinds of relationships on the internet. Virtual object relations in psychotherapy]
1Therapie-Zentrum für Suizidgefährdete, Klinik und Poliklinik für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie, Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistrasse 52, 20246 Hamburg. lindner@uke.uni-hamburg.de
Abstract:
Communication in the internet by e-mail is gaining in significance in counseling and psychotherapy of suicidal patients as well as an additional communication in face-to-face psychotherapy. E-Mail contacts during psychodynamic psychotherapy are defined as a transference offer of a virtual object relation. In two case descriptions of suicidal patients, examples of making contact with psychotherapy on the internet are presented. The concept of the virtual object is explained and its application for understanding these initial scenes and phenomena is discussed.
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