ABSTRACT
For French psychoanalysts, the term “squiggle” is indissociably linked to Winnicott, albeit without always perceiving its significance. Playing the squiggle game was a way to come into contact with the child, and allowed him to take part in its spontaneity. It is for this reason that the technique is very difficult to imitate. Moreover, Winnicott has always been particularly concerned that this technique should not deviate from its original substance, and for a long time he refused to write anything about this subject. The squiggle game, by its very format, seems to be similar to what happens at the very beginning of life. It produces an interrelation and an interaction which result in a to-ing and fro-ing movement, together with reciprocal modifications. The movement of one modifies the movement of the other, and modifies the ensemble itself.
