The role of hostile attribution bias and projective identification in online group therapy

This paper explores disembodiment in video-based group therapy using a single case study from a psychoanalytic therapy group. Drawing from clinical observation, we explore hostile attribution bias (HAB) as a mechanism which leads one to perceive ambiguous stimuli as hostile. Furthermore, one group member’s use of projective identification (PI) as a communication of aggression will be explored in its intersection with HAB. For one member, the perceived ambiguity she experienced in the online space may have contributed to expressed hostility and aggressive interactions. In response, the group became hostile towards her, validating her felt sense of hostility. The changes in nonverbal communication and weakened ostensive cues became challenging in her internalization of positive feelings and tolerance of the online space. Ostensive cues in the online environment will be considered alongside attributional biases and online disinhibition theory.