“Containment in the Cloud”

Exploring care, risk, connection and the craft of online relationality, our 2026 Virtual Conference invites us to rethink distress, containment and community in virtual therapeutic spaces: What heals, what hurts, and why it matters. What are the ethics, the access issues and the relational labour of being together in rooms we cannot touch? And, in the end, can our screens truly serve as a sanctuary?


Whether you work online, teach in digital environments, offer therapy or community practice through screens, attend therapeutic environments and support spaces online, or are simply curious about how these shifts shape our shared future, we invite you to join the conversation on 29 and 30 April 2026 and contribute to the programme.

Call for Papers & Conference Description

As therapy, education, work and community life increasingly take place online, we find ourselves in shared spaces that are both connected and apart. This shift invites reflection on what helps people to belong, relate and heal together when the physical room is replaced by a digital one. When relationships are mediated through screens, can the same sense of containment and connection be found? What changes? And what endures?

“Containment in the Cloud”, the 2026 TCTC Virtual Conference, turns toward these questions. We explore care, risk, connection and the craft of online relationality, rethinking distress, containment and community in virtual therapeutic spaces: what heals, what hurts, and why it matters. In these rooms we cannot touch, what is the relational work required of us? Can screens become our sanctuary? What are the ethics and access issues involved in being together across distance?

Rather than asking whether online or in-person practice is “better,” this conference invites curiosity and enquiry into how different forms of togetherness illuminate what makes relationships and communities therapeutic. The move toward virtual life has brought both loss and possibility; by attending to both, we may learn something vital about the nature of holding, connection and repair.

We invite abstract submissions from individuals with lived experience, either as lead contributors or in co-production roles, as well as from academics, researchers, and practitioners. Proposals may explore practice, research, collaboration, innovation or reflective and creative forms of enquiry.


Some questions to ask yourself are:

How do we manage relational presence and absence in digital spaces?
How do foster belonging, trust and manage distress in a virtual therapeutic community?
How do we create safety and containment in an online therapeutic environment?
What does learning, therapy and community look like beyond the physical room?
What is lost, what is gained, and what new forms of connection are emerging?
What are the ethics, access and the relational labour of being together across distance?
Can engaging with AI help you feel supported, accepted and understood?
What are the risks of using AI and what helps you protect your own wellbeing ?