Offline Therapeutic Technique
PSYCHOANALYSIS ON THE INTERNET: A Discussion of its Theoretical Implications for Both Online and Offline Therapeutic Technique
Paolo Migone, MD Psicoterapia e Scienze Umane, Parma, Italy
Psychoanalysis over the Internet is discussed as a means of reflecting on the way we think about theory of technique generally, and on what we mean by “communication” between patient and analyst. The way we think about online therapy has direct implications for the way we practice “offline” therapy. This problem is discussed from the point of view of the history of the theory of psychoanalytic technique, with reference to the classic 1953 paper by Kurt Eissler (K. R. Eissler, 1953, The effect of the structure of the ego on psycho- analytic technique, Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, Vol. 1, pp. 104–143) on “parameters,” and also with reference to the redefinition of psychoanalysis itself in terms of the analysis of the transference by the late Merton Gill (e.g., M. M. Gill, 1984, Psychoanalysis and psychotherapy: A revision, International Review of Psychoanalysis, Vol. 11, pp. 161–179). Online therapy is simply a different therapy, in the same way as two therapies, both offline (or both online), may be different from each other. The fil rouge that runs through this paper is a reflection on the very identity of psychoanalysis.
Keywords: Internet psychotherapy, Internet psychoanalysis, online psychother- apy, theory of psychoanalytic technique, parameters of psychoanalytic technique
It is a commonplace to say that the Internet is changing the way we communicate, and also the way we live, with repercussions that are not easily foreseeable. The worldwide web (www) is penetrating into every corner of our life, gradually changing ourselves and itself as it becomes more and more sophisticated in order to meet the most diversified needs. The importance of the Internet has been compared to the revolutionary discovery of the printing press.
Here I will take into consideration only one of the many possibilities the Internet can offer, namely as a vehicle for psychoanalytic therapy. But this paper will not deal with the
The author thanks Morris N. Eagle and John Kerr for their help in revising this paper. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Paolo Migone, MD, Via
Palestro 14, 43123 Parma, Italy. E-mail: [email protected]
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