Are we (tele)together? Contact varieties and the feasibility of tele-psychoanalysis

This paper explores the concept of contact in contemporary teleanalysis, specifically addressing the experience of “being together” within virtual psychoanalytic sessions. Drawing upon D.W. Winnicott’s theory of emotional development, the author distinguishes between three contact phenomena in teleanalysis: recognizing togetherness, feeling togetherness, and experiencing shared oneness. The author argues that teleanalytic settings can allow the recognition and feeling of togetherness, as well as brief moments of joint oneness. However, significant limitations emerge when the patient’s analytic process requires a regression to dependence and prolonged experiences of shared oneness as part of its management. The structural and functional constraints of digitally mediated interactions, as well as the effects they have on the analytic dyad, substantially restrict the capacity to achieve, sustain, and elaborate extended experiences of oneness. Consequently, this paper adopts a moderate stance regarding the viability of teleanalysis, emphasizing that the potential need for regression in treatment should be a critical criterion when evaluating the suitability of this modality.