ABSTRACT
This paper reflects on some of the author’s experiences conducting psychoanalytic psychotherapy remotely during the coronavirus pandemic. The author takes E M. Forster’s famous epigraph ‘Only connect’ as a starting point for reflecting on the nature of connecting in therapy when that work is mediated by technology. In particular, the author discusses his uncertainty about the impact of a digital format on the transference relationship. Three vignettes from the author’s clinical work with adolescents are presented to expand upon this theme, before the author concludes that a transference relationship can survive, and sometimes thrive, across a digital distance.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Sam Zuppardi
Sam Zuppardi studied English Literature at Exeter University and trained as a social worker at York University before training as a child and adolescent psychotherapist at the Northern School of Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy, in Leeds. He has published papers in the Journal of Infant Observation and has written and illustrated several picture books for children, published by Walker Books. He currently works in an NHS CAMHS in Keighley.