There is no inside/outside: on the entanglement of bodily self and biosocial environment as a basis for connectedness and compassion in times of COVID-19

Abstract: The emergence of COVID-19 has confronted the world with new challenges that ask for creative adjustments. This is also the case in the therapeutic world, including how Gestalt therapy is practised under pandemic conditions. In this paper I discuss several experiences and reflections that occurred to me in the first half of 2020. For instance, I point out that the Gestalt therapy concept of the boundary appears insufficient to adequately understand the entanglement of world and person. I also report on some therapeutic situations and how my clients and I tried to cope creatively with the given circumstances. Keywords: as-if body loop, atmosphere, boundary, compassion, connection, core affect, COVID-19, coronavirus, creative adjustment, fantasy, internal/external, lived body, object constancy, touch