Winnicott’s 1968 Visit to the New York Psychoanalytic Society and Institute: a Contextual View

Abstract

As a prelude to describing the form and content of Winnicott’s 1968(a) presentation to the New York Psychoanalytic Society and Institute, the author first outlines some crucial contextual background of that group and of the three psychoanalysts who discussed Winnicott’s paper at that event. Summaries are presented of the paper itself and the discussants’ responses. The author elaborates on Winnicott’s highly idiosyncratic way of presenting his ideas, which may lead the unwary reader astray. In conclusion, some of Winnicott’s most original contributions, both to theory and on their application to technique, are reviewed.