Connecting with Children and Adolescents and Deepening Psychoanalytic Treatment: Creative Possibilities for In-Session Use of Digital Media and Devices

ABSTRACT

Historically, child psychoanalysts and psychoanalytically-oriented child therapists have used games, toys, and art materials creatively to engage their patients, facilitate connection, and deepen treatment. Over the past two decades, screens and digital devices have become increasingly pervasive in the play and lives of children and adolescents. Although there are some well-founded concerns about the potential negative effects of screens and digital devices on child development, I take the position that the child analyst’s attitude toward electronic devices needs to shift from whether to use them in treatment to how to use them. In this article, I offer a series of case examples showing how screens and digital devices can be used in-session in productive ways akin to how child analysts have always used their creativity to engage with their patients.

KEYWORDS:

• Child and adolescent
• psychoanalysis
• digital media
• digital devices
• creativity

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. The dollhouse in my office has accessories for my patients to choose among to include in their play. These include mini toilet, bathtub, a baby in a crib, an assortment of pets, wine bottle, and a computer.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Roderick S. Hall

Roderick S. Hall, Ph.D., is a child and adolescent psychoanalyst in private practice in Coronado, California.  He is the Chair of Child and Adolescent Psychoanalytic Training at the San Diego Psychoanalytic Center and is currently President of the San Diego Psychoanalytic Center.