ABSTRACT
The convergence of the global pandemic caused by the novel Coronavirus, the raise of hate crimes across the globe and the exposure of structural racism and white supremacy inherent in every aspect of daily life in America, call for a radical reconceptualization of the ethical responsibility of the analyst in and out of her office. In this chapter, the author proposes that one ethical response to our changing world is in a new formulation of the old analytic dictum, “The patient cannot go where the analyst has not gone.” The work of analysis turns on the heels of affection. While the literal and psychic reality of contagion is real, and the stamina and aggressiveness of this particular virus is unmatched in comparison within our recent recorded history, this reality is met with significantly substantial fantasies of invincibility or immunity on the one hand and paralyzing fear met with complete isolation and quarantine on the other.
