Can I Get A Witness?: On Being Seen and Heard in a Relational Psychoanalytic Treatment

Abstract

The cries have been loud and silent. Destruction and Stillness. Most of us have not seen our patients in person for close to a year. The tables have seemingly turned. The ways of being connected to our patients and ourselves have shifted. Who do we “see” in our electronic devices? What do our patients “see” when they encounter us in sessions? What could we not “see” in each other when we sat in the same room? What is the role of Relational Psychoanalysis in helping us “see” a way forward?