How online care works

Psychoanalysts and psychologists have been conducting remote consultations for some years now. In fact, even before the emergence and popularization of the internet, there were cases where analysis took place over the phone. This resource was used, for example, when the patient (or even the psychoanalyst) was unable to travel to the office due to immigration.

More recently, following the pandemic that began in 2020, there has been a massive uptake in remote consultations. The experience of psychoanalysts during this time has shown that online care is a viable alternative for psychoanalytic treatment.

Whether online or face-to-face, the psychoanalyst will start from the same hypothesis: there is unconscious. This means that our affections, behaviors and relationships are directly influenced by elements that escape us. In order to work on these elements, psychoanalytic treatment will make use of speech. Here we consider the following assumption: what is said has an effect on us. Likewise, what is silenced has consequences.

So, just as they would in a consulting room, patients in online therapy will be invited to talk. And they can talk about whatever they want: their story, their goals, their dreams, fantasies, ideas, etc. However, they must follow a rule, which Freud called “free association”. This rule proposes that speech should take place without censorship, in other words: during the sessions we should try to say everything that crosses our minds, even when the thought seems shameful or unimportant.

Speaking and listening are the foundations of treatment, even if it takes place on a screen. The online modality brings some new challenges that require minor adaptations and technical preparations. On the other hand, the convenience of holding sessions in a familiar and comfortable space can even, in some cases, encourage greater commitment to the analytical process.

Therefore, the possibility of online psychoanalytical care represents an interesting alternative for those who want to start or continue an analysis, but who are unable to do so because of travel limitations or because they live far away from Brazil.