COVID-19 IN V ACTS

Area of Science:

• Psychoanalysis
• Psychology
• Sociology

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic's first wave (March-May 2020) necessitated rapid adaptation in psychoanalytic practices.
• Public and patient perceptions of the psychoanalytic profession's essentiality were challenged during the crisis.
• Institutions recommended a shift to remote sessions under significant health pressures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To chronologically examine the psychoanalytic response to the COVID-19 crisis.
• To analyze the technical and metapsychological implications of transitioning to remote psychoanalytic sessions.
• To explore the 'economic' and 'maternal' transference aspects emerging in virtual settings.

Main Methods:

• Chronological analysis of events and pertinent questions during the COVID-19 crisis.
• Technical examination of remote psychoanalytic sessions and their metapsychological hypotheses.
• Exploration of psychoanalytic 'economic' perspectives and transference phenomena in virtual therapy.

Main Results:

• The shift to remote sessions introduced novel technical challenges and metapsychological considerations.
• The crisis highlighted the need to re-evaluate the psychoanalytic profession's status and patient perceptions.
• Remote sessions revealed unique transference dynamics, including a palpable 'maternal element' and 'credit for in-presence'.

Conclusions:

• The COVID-19 crisis catalyzed significant transformations in psychoanalytic practice, emphasizing adaptability.
• Remote psychoanalysis offers new insights into transference, the therapeutic frame, and metapsychological concepts.
• Workshops are proposed as a future development to address the impact of global-scale unexpected events.