ABSTRACT
The terms "holding", "being", and "illusion" form the foundations for D. W. Winnicott's consistent challenge to a one-person psychology in understanding human development. In "The theory of the parent—infant relationship", he states: "Infants come into being differently according to whether the conditions are favourable or unfavourable. For Winnicott, the condition of being has a particular meaning in terms of human potential, the potential of living an aware, alive life, where body and mind can exist complementarily within that awareness. Winnicott is clearly adhering to an extended account of holding where a synchronic temporality continually informs the analytic process, emphasising its fluidity, whether "holding" or "interpretation" is the immediate focus. What Winnicott terms "a regression to dependence" is a situation that may happen in certain analyses, where he argues for an adaptation of classical technique and a prioritisation of the importance of the setting in preference to the normal interpreting tools of analytic work.
