The intuition of the negative in Playing and Reality

Journal/Book: Int J Psycho Anal. 1997; 78: 63 New Cavendish Street, London, England W1M 7RD. Inst Psycho-Analysis. 1071-1084.

Abstract: The author draws some parallels between his own conceptions on the work of the negative with some ideas presented by Winnicott in the ultimate version of his paper on 'Transitional objects and transitional phenomena'. He underlines the germs of the intuition of the negative in Winnicott's general theory ('not me possession', transitional object as not being the breast, the decathexis of the representation of the object). He then goes on to examine in detail the clinical material of a patient, in the last part of the paper which has been published posthumously In this last part the negative is mentioned explicitly and the idea is openly presented. We have here a concept of which Winnicott had the intuition without having the possibility of considering its full development and implications. It so happened that the patient whose clinical material is published in 'Playing and Reality' came to the author to continue her analytic experience. One can compare the material presented in these two analytical relationships. The author comments about his relationship with the patient and of the way she meets his own hypotheses.

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