Psycho-Analytic Explorations
This is a special book. (C. V. Haldipur, M.D.American Journal of Psychotherapy)Donald W. Winnicott was one of the leading figures in psychoanalysis in the generation after Freud...The implications of Winnicott's work are vast, both for human development and for the treatment of patients of any age...His contributions make a storehouse of ideas for those who are pressing beyond more classically psychoanalytic formulations, and he is a link between psychoanalysis and adjacent fields of thought. (F. Robert Rodman, M.D)Winnicott provides the reader with an exceptionally rich source of thoughts and ideas to 'play' with in ways similar to the children and adolescents he so thoughtfully studied. The inclusion of many here to fore unpublished papers provides the reader with a rare opportunity to eavesdrop on Winnicott as he works his way through patient interviews and reflects on the work of his contemporaries...This volume is a pleasure, both for its content and its insight into the psychoanalytic process. Winnicott's ability to eloquently communicate his thoughts and analyses makes it easy to understand his prominence in the post-World War II psychoanalytic arena. (William R. JankelScience Books & Films)As well as being informative, [this book] is a delight to read. Its value comes from the light it throws on Winnicott as a person and on the evolution of his ideas. In an initial 'Reflection,' Winnicott's wife, Clare, attempts 'to throw some light on D.W.W.'s capacity for playing' (p. 3). In so doing, she tells us a great deal about the man himself and his formative years...It is the playful quality of his writing style that makes it such a pleasure to read...All the important Winnicottian themes are represented in this book: honesty and deceiving, the uses of silence, psychosomatic disorders, the transitional object, fear of breakdown, orgastic pleasure, play in the analytic situation, regression, male and female elements of the self, envy, and, of course, the mother and the baby...Winnicott's technique emerges here with great clarity. As always, he moves back and forth between theory and clinical illustration with beautiful fluidity...All of the essays are fascinating. They are Winnicott in his shirtsleeves, and together they provide a unique supplement to our knowledge about a man who was a major contributor to psychoanalysis. (Sydney E. Pulver, M.D.Psychoanalytic Books)