Effects of New Technologies on Child Psychotherapy: Discussion of Clinical Papers from the Conference, “Where the Wired Things Are: Children and Technology in Treatment”
Many older adults are concerned that new internet technologies, especially social media, add to the alienation and isolation of children and young adults. The author considers these concerns in relation to two child psychotherapies by skilled therapists, in which the patients used cyberdevices. The play‐like functions of these uses are discussed, including displacement, defense and communication. Since the child patients introduced cyberdevices that were developed in the earlier phases of technology development, rather than the more contemporary, web-based social media, some emerging questions remain unanswered. Nonetheless, the therapists’ deft and sensitive handling of the patients’ uses of technology suggests that many of the established psychodynamic approaches are appropriate to the new situations.