ABSTRACT
D. W. Winnicott's notion suggests how the subject is constituted initially, and it helps us to see clearly how Freud's metaphor of "the analyst as a mirror" can be understood, while avoiding empiricism. On the one hand, it avoids the pitfall of eclecticism, since Winnicott respects the essential structure of Lacan's thinking, and, on the other, Winnicott remains faithful to his own conception of psychic formation. The striking consequence is that when Winnicott discovers along with the patient the significance of the "setting" in this analysis, he becomes the guardian of the time frame of the session, which is part and parcel of the psychoanalytical "frame". Winnicott becomes the custodian of the timing of the session inherent in the psychoanalytical frame. The name "Winnicott" opens Bleger's seminal essay on "Psycho-analysis of the psychoanalytical frame".
