The internet and psychotherapy with adolescents and preadolescents: some thoughts about the countertransference

ABSTRACT

Technological advances in the computer and communication fields (the internet, social networks, virtual realities,) have created a world in which most of our patients, especially pre-adolescents and adolescents, are immersed. In this paper we think about the meaning of ‘digital natives’ communication in the framework of the therapeutic relationship and the resulting countertransference. Interactions through technology, we argue, significantly reduce the difference between being together and being separate and can make it very difficult to experience a feeling of authentic intimacy or loss. Furthermore, exploring the world through the web does not provide children with the opportunity to ask questions and give voice to their doubts: it is a one-direction communication. These elements need to be considered in the therapeutic relationship with pre-adolescents and adolescents. In this paper we present three cases in which the world of internet enters into the sessions and we illustrate the countertransference this arouses and how it needs to be worked through.

KEYWORDS:

• Adolescence
• internet
• social network
• virtual world
• countertransference

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. At the time (2004) intensive psychoanalytic psychotherapy was considered a suitable intervention for children with ASC by the majority of public health services in Italy, however in the last decade this is now no longer the case.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sandra Carpi Lapi

Sandra Carpi Lapi is a child and adolescent psychotherapist, PhD in Developmental Psychology, University of Florence, Italy. Scientific Secretary of AMHPPIA, Associazione Martha Harris Psicoterapia Psicoanalitica dell’Infanzia e dell’Adolescenza, Florence, Italy.

Elisabetta Fattirolli

Elisabetta Fattirolli is a child and adolescent psychotherapist. President AMHPPIA, Associazione Martha Harris Psicoterapia Psicoanalitica dell’Infanzia e dell’ Adolescenza, Florence, Italy. Full member AIPPI, Associazione Italiana di Psicoterapia Psicoanalitica dell’Infanzia dell’Adolescenza e della Famiglia, Roma, Italy.

Maria Grazia Pini

Maria Grazia Pini is a child and adolescent psychotherapist. Member of AMHPPIA, Associazione Martha Harris Psicoterapia Psicoanalitica dell’Infanzia e dell’Adolescenza, Florence, Italy. Teacher and Organising Director at the Centro Studi Martha Harris Clinical Training, Florence, Italy.