Psychodynamic Functions of Digital Media within Our Child/Adolescent Sessions – From Interference to Enhancement – A Benevolent Viewpoint

ABSTRACT

To provide a structure for our thinking about the impact of digital media on our therapeutic work, I have outlined a way of organizing such thinking. I utilize the idea of the “psychodynamic functions” digital media perform within the context of our therapeutic work. Based mainly on my own experiences as a therapist, I outline 16 “psychodynamic functions,” which are the most frequent and salient ones. I provide additional structure by organizing these “psychodynamic functions” into three categories. The three categories are the “enhancing functions” that are likely to contribute to the richness of our psychoanalytic work, the “straddling functions” which are likely to have both enriching, enhancing aspects at times, along with defensive or impeding aspects at other times, and finally, the “defensive functions” which seem always to have defensive purposes. Equipped with these conceptualizations of psychodynamic functions, I consider seven detailed clinical examples of children and adolescents who have used digital media in their sessions. These examples include one patient suffering from trauma, one at a neurotic level of functioning, and five who were on the autism spectrum (either Asperger’s or high-functioning autism). I conclude with integrated reflections on the case illustrations, including discussion of how formulating the psychodynamic functions illuminates the types of in-session interventions to consider.

KEYWORDS:

• Psychodynamic functions
• digital media
• child and adolescent
• psychotherapy
• psychoanalysis

Acknowledgments

I would like to acknowledge several people and the support they have generously given me. Foremost among these is my editor, Anthony Bram, who has spent many unpaid hours guiding me towards a better product. The patients I write about who can only be known by their pseudonyms also deserve to be acknowledged for all they have taught me about digital media. Finally, a huge acknowledgement for my loving wife Lynda, who has put up with my spousal absence and allowed me to work away on this paper in my basement office. My sincere gratitude to all of you.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author, other than royalties from his book noted below.

Notes

1. Saturated interpretations are direct and they “point the analytic finger” directly at the patient as their locus, whereas unsaturated interpretations are indirect, allusive, weak, and do not “point a finger” at the patient (Ferro 2009a). Civitarese (2010) describes unsaturated interpretations as “weak, indirect, displaced” (210).

2. For a few examples, see Ferro and Basile (2008); Ferro and Foresti (2008); and Ferro (2009b).

3. My work with the patients described in this section will be elaborated later.

4. This refers to a transference displaced from its appropriate object to a substitute. Scortecci et. al. (1988, 765) give an example of a patient’s displacing transference feelings from her own analyst to her husband’s analyst.

5. The “Siri function,” named after the simulated human voice interface used by Apple devices, may become part of the symbiotic function. For some youth, this always available and always responsive voice may function as a symbiotic pseudo-companion who always responds with seductive pseudo-empathy, ersatz mutuality and instant though empty companionship.

6. Now that the COVID-19 pandemic has descended on us, the use of digital media in conducting psychoanalytic work is virtually universal. All my therapeutic work at the time of writing is conducted on the Internet, with many different reactions from my patients.

7. For Bion, the alpha function is a hypothetical function or what he calls “an abstraction used by the analyst to describe a function” (Bion 2014a, 294–295). Bion’s hypothesis is that it transforms raw, unorganized sense data and proto-emotions into “alpha elements.” These elements include visual images and full emotions which then “are suitable for employment in dream thoughts.”

8. See Brett (2018, 222) for a discussion of unsaturated and displaced interpretations as used by Ferro.

9. Forbidding the use of digital media is a possible option when the autisticoid retreat function appears. This is much less viable in response to media used in the autistic object function. Options for this function are noted later. In addition, JV was compliant with his parents forbidding use of digital media within sessions. He had additional autisticoid defenses, such as turning his back on me while playing in order to shut me out. Other children might not be so compliant with use of their digital devices being forbidden.

10. Jack has recently told me that forming new relationships is extremely hard for him because he either comes on too strong and scares away a potential friend or else he is too distant, and the potential friend loses interest. Jack lacks internal “emotional distance regulation” and he thus uses digital devices for this purpose.

11. The whole beginning of this song, “Unhappy Girl,” captures my feelings toward John: “Unhappy girl/Left all alone/Playing solitaire/Playing warden to your soul/You are locked in a prison/Of your own/devise./And you can’t believe/What it does to me,/To see you/Crying.”

12. It is interesting that since this embarrassing conversation, the “Messenger” app has separated from Facebook and now resides on my iPhone as a separate and stand-alone app!

13. “In a culture like ours … the medium is the message. This is merely to say that the personal and social consequences of any medium … result from the new scale that is introduced into our affairs by each extension of ourselves, or by any new technology.”

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Notes on contributors

Robin Holloway

Robin Holloway, Ph.D., practices at the Willow Centre in Toronto and is a teacher and supervisor with the Canadian Institute for Child and Adolescent Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy (CICAPP).