ABSTRACT
More, perhaps, than any other psychoanalytic theorist, Winnicott spoke to our belief in the possibility of maternal repair in the consulting room. His work is widely admired, often idealized, and sometimes misunderstood. Winnicott's writing is lyrical more than concrete, replete with metaphors that don’t always make clear what he actually did—or thought—moment to moment. This Chapter examines his particular idiom and its implications for, and applications to, clinical work. It is decidedly not a review of his entire theoretical contribution. Instead, I focus on those elements of Winnicott’s thinking that altered the way clinicians practiced then and practice now. After describing what I view as Winnicott’s most important clinical contributions, I discuss their potential weaknesses. Finally, I review my own effort to create a relational bridge to the Winnicottian perspective.
I hope that, as you read this Chapter, you will feel your way into this material from the inside out. Ideally, you will locate its fit—and collision—with your own professional idiom and perhaps rewrite the material in your own words.
