Out of Body: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of how child and adolescent psychotherapists experienced the dissolve of the physical aspects of the psychoanalytic frame (body and setting) due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Until the COVID-19 pandemic, CAPPTs had worked primarily in person with children – in ‘body’ and ‘setting’ - for as long as child psychotherapy had been practiced. CAPPTs found themselves catapulted into new and unknown territory, working ‘remotely’ from their own homes. This study looked at the experiences of CAPPTs in relation to the shifts in the physical aspects of the psychoanalytic frame. Three CAPPTs were interviewed twice each, using semi-structured interviews: firstly, about their route into child psychotherapy and thoughts on the concept of the psychoanalytic frame, and secondly about working through Covid. An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used to develop themes which aim to do justice to the experiences of the participants. Findings suggest that the psychoanalytic frame for CAPPT has changed irrevocably, and that the impact of this, while not yet known, is felt in myriad ways. All participants expounded the importance of in-person work with children as optimal, however, all felt that the pandemic had allowed for new possibilities and a more flexible approach. All participants felt that participating in the research encouraged further reflection the impact of their experiences and the ongoing changes in shape and form on the structures surrounding their future. Recommendations for further research are for investigation into how CAPPT trainees are making sense of the post-Covid frame, given the increasing offer of, and demand for, technology-based psychotherapy, as well as what is felt about the presence or absence of the body in their work. Furthermore, a larger scale study could valuably explore how CAPPTs are renegotiating and reclaiming the importance of the physical frame for the profession, in the light of the continued prevalence of and demand for remote work. Key words: COVID-19 pandemic, psychoanalytic frame, setting, body, child psychotherapy, psychoanalytic psychotherapy, remote work, IPA, containment, holding environment, countertransference