ABSTRACT

In examining Donald Winnicott's life, the author’s main objective is to explore the connection between his life and work. Winnicott's writing about the early mother–child relationship is central to his work; the author will consider his own experience in the light of this perspective. Winnicott writes specifically about the effect of a depressed mother. Winnicott identified one major problem in his childhood. The background is that he was the only son in a household with his mother, two older sisters, a nanny, and a governess. Winnicott also explicitly makes a parallel between Jung and himself. The Winnicott–Khan relationship is controversial, primarily because Khan's behaviour, which had skirted the borderline of unacceptability, became outrageous when Khan deteriorated after Winnicott's death.