Relating in online body psychotherapy: ‘Are you there?’

Abstract

For body pychotherapists (as well as other therapy practitioners working expressly with the body), the unprecedented challenges which have arisen from having to relate via the screen has given rise to much debate and confusion about the efficacy of any somatic-centred therapeutic process offered online. For practitioners accustomed to working with the energies and expressions of the body, what happens to us and our clients when we work in a context wherein the body cannot wholly be seen (and can certainly not be touched)? This article will explore the some of the common threads which have been emerging for practitioners and clients who are working virtually in online body psychotherapy sessions. By integrating theory, clinical vignettes and the author’s personal reflections (as therapist and as client), the author will address some of the arising issues and establish ground for further debate on the implications of relating online via virtual platforms.