Re-visioning creativity in couple psychoanalysis: the importance of Winnicott and Bollas in clinical practice

Abstract

This article suggests that the work of Donald Winnicott and Christopher Bollas is essential in helping us re-vision the current dominant Kleinian and post-Kleinian model of contemporary couple psychoanalysis. It shows how their different understanding of the nature of creativity draws upon different conceptions of the creative couple and upon a radically different understanding of the relationship between the self and the unconscious. It suggests that their thinking on creativity and the unconscious is useful in our work with couples. It goes on to focus on the clinical and technical implications of these ideas in five areas: gesture; repetition; compliance; mood and emotional atmosphere; and the use of objects.