Working with adolescents virtually during the Covid-19 period

In this article, the author proposes to present her therapeutic work with adolescents during the Covid-19 period carried out remotely using Skype. Based on the theories that allow us to understand adolescence as a process of growth and transformation, it was possible to acknowledge the changes that took place in three adolescents in different stages of a relational therapy. The imposition of working virtually created a new way of practising psychotherapy, where the notions of transference and countertransference were essential for the understanding of the intra- and inter-psychic processes that take place in the internal world. Skype was the tool that made it possible to continue the relational presence for working with adolescents.

Treating Mental Illness and Relational Concerns in Incarcerated Settings

Rates of incarceration in the United States have grown dramatically over the past 50 years. These high rates of incarceration call for mental health and relational therapy to incarcerated individuals and their families. In conducting a literature review on incarceration, several topics emerged: mental illness, racial and ethnic disparity, and recidivism. When studying incarceration, mental illness is a necessary topic of inclusion due to high prevalence of mentally ill incarcerated individuals. When exploring issues related to incarceration, it is important to discuss diverse disparities to be able to put the individuals into context of their social location as well as address how contextual factors impact incarceration. The purpose of this article is to highlight the systemic, relational issues within incarcerated settings and then to display how treating mental illness and relational concerns allows for a healthier integration back into the family system. Clinical implications and future directions are also provided.

Autyzm relacyjnie, czyli praca na i nad kontaktem z dziećmi z zaburzeniami ze spektrum autyzmu

Relational approach to autism is a specific way of understanding needs of the child with development disorders based on three strong fundaments – psychoanalysis, development psychology and psychopathology. It is a result of complex research of typical development and identification of caretaker’s intuitive reactions, which support the child best and in a natural way. Relational therapy is not a remedy for every issue in autism. However, it should be an important, central element of a good-enough, holistic educational and therapeutic program. An introduction to other, educational-oriented activities, like learning which is a dyadic process of interaction between two people of whom one is always a teacher for another. Connection and relation should be an essence of every intervention dedicated to autistic children to, as a result, make the autism thaw.