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Psychoanalytic Teaching by Video Link and Telephone
Abstract
In this era of global connectedness, there is great interest in using distance video platforms such as Skype and VSee, as well as the telephone, for conducting psychoanalysis and psychotherapy across geographic distance. Little, however, has been written about the use of technology for psychoanalytic education. The International Psychotherapy Institute has extensive experience in the use of videoconference and telephone technology in the teaching of psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic psychotherapy, including didactic teaching, infant observation, and individual and group supervision, with individuals and groups across the United States and overseas. Use of this technology for tele-education has facilitated the spread of psychoanalytic ideas, recruitment of psychoanalytic and psychotherapeutic trainees, and ongoing training for members living at great distances from one another and from the institute. This work is in many ways similar to ordinary psychoanalytic teaching and supervision, and yet presents significant differences in technique, opportunity, and group dynamics. Further implementation and study of this methodology can greatly aid in the dissemination of psychoanalysis in the digital age.
© 2015 by the American Psychoanalytic Association.
... Caparrotta (2013) claims that digital technologies need to be embraced responsibly and with an open mind by the psychoanalytic profession. This seems to be occurring as indicated by three recent books on the topic, Psychoanalysis Online: Mental Health, Teletherapy and Training, and Psychoanalysis Online II, both edited by J. S. Scharff (2013bScharff ( , 2015, and Psychoanalysis in the Technoculture Era edited by Lemma & Caparrotta, (2013). J. S. Scharff's (2013bScharff's ( , 2015 books emerged from an international workgroup of colleagues from the International Psychoanalytical Association (IPA) and the International Institute for Psychoanalytic Training (IIPT) studying the practice of psychoanalysis and psychotherapy conducted on the telephone and over the internet. ...
... This seems to be occurring as indicated by three recent books on the topic, Psychoanalysis Online: Mental Health, Teletherapy and Training, and Psychoanalysis Online II, both edited by J. S. Scharff (2013bScharff ( , 2015, and Psychoanalysis in the Technoculture Era edited by Lemma & Caparrotta, (2013). J. S. Scharff's (2013bScharff's ( , 2015 books emerged from an international workgroup of colleagues from the International Psychoanalytical Association (IPA) and the International Institute for Psychoanalytic Training (IIPT) studying the practice of psychoanalysis and psychotherapy conducted on the telephone and over the internet. ...
... They discussed the success of the programme and how the cultural issues as well as aspects of the transference and countertransference are shaped by the virtual nature of the technology. D. E. Scharff (2015) reported that another psychoanalytic distance learning institute, the International Psychotherapy Institute has also had great success in the use of videoconference technology. ...
In an earlier study, Gordon, Wang and Tung, (2015) surveyed 176 therapists, supervisors and teachers in the China American Psychoanalytic Alliance (CAPA) and found that the psychodynamic constructs hold up well when treating Chinese patients over video-conferencing (VCON). Over-all, expert raters felt that psychodynamic treatment over VCON was only slightly less effective than in-person treatment. However, 30% of the therapists in this survey had strong feelings against VCON treatment. In this study we asked what differentiated low raters from higher raters of treatment effectiveness. This study focuses on the 94 therapists, who completed the survey questions on treatment issues. As hypothesized: gender and profession (psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, and others) were not significantly related to how therapists rated the effectiveness of treatment over VCON. Also as hypothesized: the number of years doing therapy and number of years using VCON were also both not significantly related to how therapists rated the effectiveness of treatment over VCON. As hypothesized, low effectiveness raters and higher raters significantly differed on all the questions regarding specific psychodynamic variables over VCON: symptom reduction, exploring mental life, working with transference, working though relational problems, working with resistances, privacy concerns, and countertransference (p < .001 for all these variables). Low raters felt that exploring the mental life of the patient was most affected by VCON and working on transference was least affected by VCON.
Never the less, low raters of effectiveness and higher raters of effectiveness generally agree that treatment over VCON is valuable since it offers quality treatment to underserved or remote patients, and it is valuable when the patient is house-bound or travel would be impractical. The few who were most critical of treatment over VCON were perhaps comparing it to the more familiar psychoanalytic condition rather than considering new ways to extend psychodynamic thought and services.
... Scharff concluded that conducting analysis via the telephone or VCON is a viable, clinically effective alternative to traditional analysis where necessary. J.S. Scharff (2013Scharff ( , 2015 explored the advantages and possible problems with not only online psychotherapy and psychoanalysis, but also training. She argued that the continuity, availability of the frequency of analytic sessions for in-depth analytic work, and outreach to analysands in areas far from specialized psychoanalytic centers is an important consideration despite the problems. ...
... D. E. Scharff (2015) reported that another distance-learning group, the International Psychotherapy Institute, has extensive experience in the use of videoconference and telephone technology in the teaching of psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic psychotherapy with individuals and groups across the United States and other countries. D. E. Scharff concluded that the use of this technology for tele-education has facilitated the spread of psychoanalytic ideas, recruitment of psychoanalytic and psychotherapeutic trainees, and ongoing training for members living at great distances from training institutes. ...
... Scharff concluded that conducting analysis via the telephone or VCON is a viable, clinically effective alternative to traditional analysis where necessary. J.S. Scharff (2013Scharff ( , 2015 explored the advantages and possible problems with not only online psychotherapy and psychoanalysis, but also training. She argued that the continuity, availability of the frequency of analytic sessions for in-depth analytic work, and outreach to analysands in areas far from specialized psychoanalytic centers is an important consideration despite the problems. ...
... D. E. Scharff (2015) reported that another distance-learning group, the International Psychotherapy Institute, has extensive experience in the use of videoconference and telephone technology in the teaching of psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic psychotherapy with individuals and groups across the United States and other countries. D. E. Scharff concluded that the use of this technology for tele-education has facilitated the spread of psychoanalytic ideas, recruitment of psychoanalytic and psychotherapeutic trainees, and ongoing training for members living at great distances from training institutes. ...
How effective is psychoanalytic/psychodynamic distance training over the Internet? To assess this, we surveyed graduates of the 2 year and 4 year programs of the China America Psychoanalytic Alliance (CAPA). The main results of the 90 graduates’ surveys showed that 77% of their work involves a psychoanalytic formulation of their cases as compared to other theoretical orientations. The degree to which graduates used a psychoanalytic formulation of their cases was best predicted by the number of years in training and the more days a week in their own treatment. Graduates highly rated the effectiveness of their own psychoanalytic therapy over videoconferencing (VCON). Graduates’ ratings of treatment with their patients over VCON positively correlated with years of psychoanalytic education, number of days a week in own treatment, years doing psychoanalytic treatment, and degree working with a psychoanalytic orientation. Graduates thought that therapist variables (skillfulness, warmth, empathy, and wisdom) were much more important in the effectiveness of their treatment than whether the treatment was in-person or with VCON, or the presence of cultural differences with their therapist. The graduates’ ratings of how they are practicing psychoanalytic treatment were highly correlated with how their own therapists practiced psychoanalytic psychotherapy, as measured by the psychodynamic/interpersonal process items on the Comparative Psychotherapy Process Scale.
... Auch die psychoanalytischen Diskurslinien in der Forschung zum Cyberspace bestanden zu Beginn nur aus vereinzelten Publikationen, die neue Medien überwiegend negativ bewerteten, ohne dazu jedoch klinisches Material heranzuziehen (Löchel, 2019). Erst mit den Arbeiten von Lemma und Caparotta (2014) und Scharff (2013Scharff ( , 2015 wurden klinische Einzelfälle dargestellt, in denen neue Medien eine Rolle spielten, sei es um die unbewusste Bedeutung eines Mediums für das Individuum zu analysieren oder aber, um die Möglichkeiten des Einsatzes von Medien in der psychoanalytischen Behandlung darzustellen und zu diskutieren. ...
Objectives: The present explorative study evaluates the question of media regulation in treatment and the question of psychoanalysts' experiences with digital crossings of boundaries. Methods: Using a self-constructed questionnaire, N = 50 completed questionnaires were distributed to psychoanalysts (age: M = 48,64, SD = 12,71; m = 44 %, f = 56 %) at the 51st IPA Congress held in July 2019 that were analyzed using aMann-Whitney U-test and Chi square test. Results: The majority of the psychoanalysts surveyed 68 %, (n = 34) do not regularly discuss the use ofmedia with their patients at the beginning of treatment, 28%(n = 14) of the analysts surveyed contacted their patients using digital media services without discussing this possibility of contact beforehand, 16 % (n = 8) contacted their patients at night, 46 %, n = 23 googled their patients and 24 %, (n = 12) secretly used a mobile phone during analysis. Conclusions: Due to the advancing technology of the health care system, further psychoanalytic research that accompanies the process of using media in treatment is necessary.
The Covid-19 pandemic and the social distancing required to combat it have set in motion an experiment in psychoanalytic education of unprecedented scope. Following an abrupt shift from in-person study to remote classes, supervision, clinical work, and training analyses, the Columbia University Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research polled its psychotherapy and psychoanalysis trainees to assess their initial experience of remote training. Most candidates found the technical aspects of online learning easy and were satisfied with remote training overall. Across all programs, most trainees considered class length and reading load about right and felt their class participation was unaffected, though they found it harder to concentrate. Most found it no harder to start a training case, felt the shift to remote supervision had no negative effect, and were satisfied with seeing their training analyst remotely. Most trainees preferred in-person classes, clinical work, and training analyses to those offered remotely, yet in light of the health risks they said they were less likely to continue training in fall 2020 if in-person work resumed. Trainees suggested several modifications of teaching techniques to improve their participation and concentration in class. These findings’ implications for the debate regarding remote training in psychoanalysis are explored.
Recent implementation science in mental health has focused on identifying the most effective strategies to disseminate and implement evidence-based treatments (EBTs) into real-world practice settings. The learning collaborative training methodology and its use of expert trainers/consultants have become increasingly popular as one of these approaches. Moreover, there is preliminary evidence that ongoing expert consultation may increase the adoption, learning, and sustainability of EBTs by an already practicing workforce and, consequently, help trainers, practitioners, and organizations address implementation barriers. This article describes the authors' experiences in facilitating Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP) training and explores the role of reflective clinical consultation as an active process that supports the implementation of a rich, but complex, model that requires sophisticated knowledge and skills from practitioners. It examines the intricate range of the CPP consultant's functions, which ultimately support clinicians' reflective practice as they learn and adopt this EBT. Reflective consultation is proposed as an essential component for the integration of knowledge, experience, and emotions in practitioners and as a catalyst for organizational change. Using their voices as trainers-consultants and those of their trainees, the authors discuss the implications of reflective consultation for the effective implementation and sustainability of CPP. Reflections are offered on lessons learned.
The author reviews myths and traditional tales in which the protagonist is a filicidal mother. In a displaced form, filicidal mothers appear as the ubiquitous witches of folklore. This imago is universal in fantasies and pavor nocturnus in children, regardless of the quality of care of the real maternal figures. To this phenomenon-the result of defensive externalization of primitive fears-a fundamental dimension is added when this dread seems corroborated by the mother's manifestly murderous wishes and behavior. Clinical examples of this pathogenic circumstance are provided, with comments on the development of dissociation versus repression, depending on the severity of early traumas. The evolution of symptoms and character disorder in adulthood is discussed, as well as interpretive and technical dilemmas posed by these patients.
Counseling licensure boards report emerging needs to regulate technology-assisted distance counseling and supervision. An analysis of published regulations and telephone interviews with board administrators nationwide suggests that boards agree generally on 7 aspects of technology-assisted distance practice that need to be regulated. Nevertheless, boards are disparate and often polarized in their views regarding the extent and type of regulation needed for each aspect. Current trends may have important implications for counselor education, supervision, and practice.
Teleanalysis-remote psychoanalysis by telephone, voice over internet protocol (VoIP), or videoteleconference (VTC)-has been thought of as a distortion of the frame that cannot support authentic analytic process. Yet it can augment continuity, permit optimum frequency of analytic sessions for in-depth analytic work, and enable outreach to analysands in areas far from specialized psychoanalytic centers. Theoretical arguments against teleanalysis are presented and countered and its advantages and disadvantages discussed. Vignettes of analytic process from teleanalytic sessions are presented, and indications, contraindications, and ethical concerns are addressed. The aim is to provide material from which to judge the authenticity of analytic process supported by technology.
There is professional consensus that teleanalysis, the practice of psychoanalysis conducted remotely using the telephone and the Internet, is increasing in response to more mobility in the population. But there is controversy as to whether the use of technology leads to a dilution of analysis or to adaptive innovation that is clinically effective and true to the tenets of psychoanalysis. The author reviews the psychoanalytic literature and shows the development of analytic thinking about this technology-assisted practice of psychoanalysis. She summarizes analysts' perceptions and experiences of the advantages and disadvantages, and considers the indications and contra-indications. She focuses on the clinical concerns that arise in terms of the frame, resistance, and the development of analytic process through the unconscious communication of internal objects, unconscious fantasy, transference and countertransference. She gives vignettes from the analysis of a man with trauma-related depression to address the concerns raised and to support her argument that analysis using the telephone and the Internet is a viable, clinically effective alternative to traditional analysis where necessary.
This is a short outline of the development of psychoanalysis and of analytic training in Eastern Europe after the fall of the Iron Curtain. The Han Groen Prakken Psychoanalytic Institute for Eastern Europe was founded by the IPA and the EPF in 2002 to organize and coordinate this. The activity of such an unusual training institute, virtual and time-limited up to the birth of new IPA study groups, is described with the problems it has had to face, from shuttle analysis to research of this unusual training, from initial outreach activity to formation of new analytic groups, from unavoidable plurality of analytic approaches of an international staff to the need for systematic teaching, from criteria for selection of candidates in such a large area with many languages, cultures and histories, to the integration of new analysts and groups in the international analytic community. These problems are part of the challenge implicit in the globalization, with its unavoidable push to enlarge to the whole humanity the psychoanalytic theory and praxis. Such an experience is now used in Latin America, but may also soon have its application in other continents. Freedom of mind is a basic need of all humans and psychoanalysis still has much to say about this.
For several years, the China American Psychoanalytic Alliance (CAPA) has provided treatment, training, and supervision to Chinese mental health professionals over the Internet. The lack of Chinese analysts and mentors has created an intense demand for psychodynamic psychotherapy training and treatment that CAPA is addressing using Skype™ and other distance communication technologies. This article describes the project, its history, scope, and activities, and the experiences of CAPA teachers and clinicians in exploring and developing the usefulness and power of this very new teaching method. Some particular characteristics of Chinese culture have become apparent as a result of the teaching experience. Aspects of the transference and countertransference that are shaped by the virtual nature of the technology are discussed, using case material. Our hope is that, in helping to train our Chinese students in psychodynamic psychotherapy, they will go on to train future generations of clinicians. This model of teaching and training could also be applied in other underserved areas.
The Use of the Telephone in Psychotherapy
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Telephone psychotherapy and the 21st century
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Psychoanalysis in the Technoculture Era
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Tuning the Therapeutic Instrument
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