Sixteen analysands' and large groups' reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The first part of this paper describes 16 analysands' reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic, from early March 2020 until mid-January 2021 when this paper was written, when different vaccines for the virus have become available and when the new COVID-19 variant showed its face. The data come from the author's supervision via telephone of 10 younger psychoanalysts who were treating one or two of these cases. Most of the analysts and their analysands are located in Istanbul, Turkey, others in the United States and one analyst and her patient in Germany. The second part of this paper describes how the initial response to the virus pandemic has increased some of the 16 analysands' investments in their large-group identities. The pandemic's impact on “border psychology” is also described. Lastly, this paper poses suggestions about the psychoanalyst's role in making helpful suggestions in dealing with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on large groups.