Navigating the COVID-19 Pandemic From Mexico City

ABSTRACT

The COVID-19 pandemic forced immediate changes to clinical practice. The article presents some adaptations undertaken during the first outbreak in Mexico City, from March to June 2020. Key modifications were the telephone mode, the boundaries of personal space during the session, and the pace of the analysis. Regressive topics were recurrent, and some patients exhibited paranoid features related with contagion and vulnerability. Feelings of frustration, longing, and loneliness were pervasive, oftentimes accompanied by the symptoms of anxiety and depression, and an overall sense of timelessness was common. As the pandemic intensifies, fear and grief came closer. The experiences of the first outbreak might help other psychoanalysts navigate a complicated period.