Editorial

I am writing this editorial in July 2021 as the government-imposed restrictions against the Covid pandemic are lifting in the UK, bringing much relief to some, but increasing anxiety to others as infection rates of the Delta variant of the virus dramatically increase. Despite the demonstrable efficacy of the vaccines in limiting infections and the severity of illness in those who become infected, anxieties mount again about the increasing pressure on the national health and other public sector in the UK and other countries, with the postponement of non-Covid related interventions and unbearble stresses on staff. Notwithstanding the real challenges in decision-making between balancing the economic recovery against preventing further deaths and debilitating illness, erratic and ambiguous messages and behaviour from governments about how to best handle the pandemic have fostered polarised splits in society: those who become vaccinated versus those who refuse; those who view social distancing as an infringement of liberty and free choice versus those who are terrified of the increased risk of becoming infected; and those whose potential loss of livelihood forces them into contravening social distancing regulations to maintain employment versus those whose wealth protects them from economic adversity.

As in previous issues of this journal published during the pandemic, the papers here are not specifically about Covid but collectively illustrate certain psychoanalytic principles and practice that may be relevant in helping some of those who have suffered from the negative, and at times, devastating, health, social, economic and political consequences of the virus. One of these principles is the ability to tolerate uncertainty, to bear anxiety without precipitously acting on it or discharging it into others. The first paper in this issue ‘Beyond the walls of Camden & Islington Personality Disorder Service: A qualitative study of clinical consultation to external services’ b