ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the ways of offering psychodynamic psychotherapy remotely through online platforms and telephone and what people need to bear in mind when working in these altered ways. A key aspect of the analytic frame is therapeutic anonymity, namely the so-called blank slate clinician onto whom the patient can project their conflicts and fantasies. Certain social media platforms may be more difficult to ensure that therapists are not connected to their patients. The British Psychological Society has published guidelines for therapists on professionalism and social media. The British Psychological Society guidelines go on to warn that even where therapists think their posts are private a written comment nevertheless leaves a digital trace and may be viewed or forwarded to someone else. Patients have the right to be informed about the collection and use of their data. Mobile phones offer a greater degree of immediacy and access, with phones mostly carried on, or close to, the body.
