Essential anxiety: COVID-19 in analytic practice

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Psychoanalysis
• Jungian Psychology

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic presented unprecedented challenges to daily life and mental well-being.
• Existential anxiety became a prominent feature during the crisis, impacting individuals' inner worlds.
• The pandemic highlighted the need to understand psychological responses to widespread threat.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the analyst-analysand relationship and the analyst's inner world.
• To examine the role of the archetypal Self in navigating existential and 'essential' anxiety.
• To investigate the potential for psychological growth and individuation amidst the crisis.

Main Methods:

• Reflective analysis of clinical experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Exploration of Jungian concepts, including the archetypal Self and essential anxiety.
• Consideration of the dynamics of online Jungian analysis.

Main Results:

• The pandemic experience revealed a dual nature: existential threat alongside creative resurgence and a celebration of life.
• The concept of 'essential anxiety' emerged as a potentially growth-facilitating encounter with the Self.
• Online Jungian analysis demonstrated advantages in maintaining psychological containment and wholeness.
• The crisis offered opportunities for enhanced self-regulation and individuation.

Conclusions:

• The COVID-19 pandemic, despite its terror, served as a catalyst for psychological growth, self-regulation, and individuation.
• The analyst-analysand relationship and connection with the archetypal Self were crucial in transforming anxiety into growth.
• Online Jungian analysis proved a viable modality for facilitating psychological processes during a global crisis.