In this Q&A with the board of the British Journal of Psychotherapy (BJP), psychoanalyst Gillian Isaacs Russell, author of the 2015 book Screen Relations, discusses changes to the experience of psychotherapy brought about by the twin factors of the Covid-19 pandemic and the abrupt shift to “mediated communication” by phone or video conferencing (p. 1). Implicitly, the author writes from the standpoint that, beyond providing for continuity of care, there are no therapeutic opportunities inherent to technologically mediated treatment for either patient or therapist, and expresses the hope that “the value of co-present relating has been rediscovered and reasserted” (p. 10). This short review hopes to provide some element for patients and practitioners who wish to put this in perspective with their own experience.
The therapeutic relationship can only effect change in depth, and this is why the psychotherapist will make every effort to provide the best possible conditions so that this change is beneficial to the patient.
Depth psychotherapy is an effective treatment for social anxiety, allowing a person to understand their current experience and consider new behaviours.
Depth psychotherapy is an effective treatment for depression, and aims to help a person restore their ability to form relationship to others and the world.
The unconscious is the ever present force in our daily actions. Unless we acknowledge this, our actions will not be framed by the present, but by the past – and we won’t know it. Psychotherapy aims to restore a good working relationship with our unconscious minds.
Couples who are encountering difficulties can benefit from a space, where each can understand the dynamics of their relationship, and how to effect change. This can be achieved individually, as is often the case, or as a consulting couple.
On 23 June 2016, a majority of the British electorate chose to leave the European Union. The economy and political landscape in Great Britain are changed dramatically, and beyond this, individuals can find themselves deeply affected.
The initial consultation is more structured than the “typical” session of therapy, which tends to meander as it follows the course of the unconscious. Despite being more “protocol-heavy”, it is still unique to each individual, both in what it contains and in the way it unfolds.
