i The Clinic of Donald W. Winnicott Paediatric psychoanalyst Donald W. Winnicott is widely recognized as a remarkable clinician. Deprivation, regression, play, antisocial tendencies and “the use of the object” are part of the many clin- ical conceptions he conceived, and here Laura Dethiville explains each in a clear and precise way, highlighting Winnicott’s originality and enduring relevance. The Clinic of Donald W. Winnicott offers all readers a glimpse of what Winnicott brings to the understanding of the human being, and will appeal to students new to his work, as well as practitioners looking for a concise overview of his work. Laura Dethiville, psychoanalyst, member of the Society of Freudian Psychoanalysis (SPF), has been leading a seminar on Winnicott for 20 years. Her previous work includes Donald W. Winnicott: A New Approach. ii iii The Clinic of Donald W. Winnicott Laura Dethiville Translated by Susan Ganley Lévy iv First published 2019 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business English Edition © 2019 Éditions Campagne Première, Paris © 2013, Éditions Campagne Première, Paris The right of Laura Dethiville to be identified as the author has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing- in- Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data A catalog record has been requested for this book ISBN: 978- 0- 367- 02759- 9 (hbk) ISBN: 978- 0- 367- 02761- 2 (pbk) ISBN: 978- 0- 429- 39794- 3 (ebk) Typeset in Times New Roman by Newgen Publishing UK v For Dalva vi vii Contents Acknowledgements viii Introduction: Winnicott and his clinical work 1 1 Therapeutic consultation 3 2 The squiggle 13 3 The father 25 4 The family 38 5 Antisocial tendency and deprivation 50 6 Aggression and destructiveness 68 7 Adolescence 81 8 Regression 96 9 The area of playing in the cure 113 Index 124 newgenvprepidifi Acknowledgements With thanks to all who have accompanied the writing of this book: To the participants in my workshop, whose questions added to my own thinking. To Marie Lacôte, for her reactivity, competence and effective- ness throughout this work. To François Lévy, for his support, advice and his patience. To Marie Baldit, for the care taken with the updating of the bibliography. 1 Introduction Winnicott and his clinical work At the beginning of my essay Donald W. Winnicott: A New Approach (Dethiville, 2014), I  maintained that it is impossible to define Winnicott’s concepts. All we can do is describe them. They have a life of their own, and often all we can do is follow them, trying not to lose our way. This second work is a confirmation of this. Winnicott was writing up his work all his life. His texts show proof of continual research, sustained by his intense clinical experience, the influence of the world around him and the events he was involved in. The study of children evacuated from London during the Second World War led him to conceptualize antisocial tendencies and deprivation, two revolutionary ideas that are absolutely essential in understanding certain pathologies. Those troubled times enabled him to formulate many of his principal ideas on the importance of the family and the “paternal” father – or, should we say, he who is something other than a simple replacement of the mother. But Winnicott’s use of language, the intermixing of inventiveness and facilitation/ compromise that are so typical of him, often obscure the originality of that which he is trying to show us. In the course of his work, we are able to discern how his thinking and practice become more and more personal. His development of “the use of the object” remains the culminating point of his research and, retrospectively, clarifies his whole thought process. Dare we say that practice constantly preceded theory? To study how he worked, to discover his incredible presence in consultations with his patients, whether adult or child – a presence that owed everything to his ability to “play”, whether it be in the squiggle game with a child, or in the transitional space he constructed with his adult patients – are an incredible lesson for us.