On the Contribution of Direct Child Observation to Psycho-Analysis 1 (1957)

I wish to deal with the confusion that I think may arise through an acceptance of the word ‘deep’ as synonymous with the word ‘early’. I have published two contributions specifically in the field of direct observation; these concern (a) the infant’s way of coming to terms with an object (Winnicott, 1941), and (b) the use of objects and phenomena during the time of the infant’s transition from a purely subjective life to the next stage (Winnicott, 1951).