Abstract

This paper is a continuation of an article published in 2017 in the Journal Psihoterapija (vol. 31). Clinical case material from the conference organized by Therapy 2.0 in Zagreb has been added to illustrate limits and opportunities offered by new technologies to our discipline. The author is concerned with how the shift to the virtual dimension as in video sessions via Skype can be helpful or cause damage. The author refers to the experience of being alone in the presence of another (Winnicott) and wonders how the virtual dimension can affect the perception of being safely contained. The importance of body language in a traditional session setting is considered paramount, especially with patients whose suffering is anchored to pre-oedipal phases. The new European laws attach great importance to the protection of privacy but the Snowden revelations in 2013 demonstrated that global digital communications can be easily intercepted. There is an ethical dimension to consider when patients are encouraged to share their most intimate thoughts and fantasies online in a context where it is not possible to guarantee the confidentiality of the communication. The author is further concerned with the issue of whether the loss is still a core concept in our changing world and in our therapeutic endeavors. She further underlines the importance of carefully evaluating the inherent risks of new technologies in psychotherapy along with the opportunities to broaden outreach.