Uncanny Teletherapy: Working with Extimacy.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Psychoanalysis
• Clinical Practice

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a rapid shift to teletherapy, presenting novel challenges for clinicians.
• Existing literature often views teletherapy as either a diminished form of in-person therapy or a mere simulation.
• These perspectives risk idealizing the traditional in-person therapeutic setting.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the unique aspects of teletherapy, including its inherent strangeness, distance, and mediations.
• To apply the psychoanalytic concepts of the uncanny and Lacanian extimacy to understand the teletherapy experience.
• To reframe teletherapy not as a substitute but as a distinct and valuable form of therapeutic encounter.

Main Methods:

• Theoretical analysis drawing on Freudian concepts of the uncanny.
• Application of Lacanian theory, specifically the concept of extimacy.
• Exploration of intimacy and bodily proximity within the context of remote therapeutic interactions.

Main Results:

• The concept of 'minimal uncanny' and extimacy provide a framework for understanding teletherapy's unique qualities.
• Teletherapy is characterized by inherent strangeness, distance, and mediation, which can be theoretically examined.
• This approach moves beyond viewing teletherapy as inferior to traditional therapy.

Conclusions:

• Teletherapy should not be dismissed as a lesser form of treatment but understood through its own unique dynamics.
• The logic of extimacy offers a new theoretical lens to appreciate the therapeutic encounter in teletherapy.
• Teletherapy can be considered an exemplary case of the therapeutic relationship, highlighting intimacy and presence in novel ways.