D. W. Winnicott and Jacques Lacan, two of the most innovative and important psychoanalytic theorists since Freud, are also seemingly the most incompatible. And yet, in different ways, both men emphasized the psychic process of becoming a subject or of developing a separate self, and both believed in the possibility of a creative reworking or new beginning for the person seeking psychoanalytic help. The possibility of working between their contrasting perspectives on a central issue for psychoanalysis - the nature of the human subject and how it can be approached in analytic work - is explored in this book. Their differences are critically evaluated, with an eye toward constructing a more effective psychoanalytic practice that takes both relational and structural-linguistic aspects of subjectivity into account. The contributors address the Winnicott-Lacan relationship itself and the evolution of their ideas, and provide detailed examples of how they have been utilized in psychoanalytic work with patients.
Contributors: Jeanne Wolff Bernstein, James Gorney, Andre Green, Mardi Ireland, Lewis Kirshner, Deborah Luepnitz, Mari Ruti, Alain Vanier, Francois Villa .
Reviews
"Winnicott and Lacan are arguably two of the most important psychoanalysts after Freud. Who would have thought that their methods and techniques could converge in clinical practice? I wondered how it could work. This book shows how it can be done and makes a strong case for the advantages of combining the contributions of these two psychoanalytic innovators. These essays, rich in clinical material, will intrigue all who are interested in the talking cure. This unique book will also be a valuable teaching tool. Between Winnicott and Lacan brings fresh perspective for rethinking psychoanalytic theory and practice." - Patricia Gherovici, Ph.D., author, Please Select Your Gender: From the Invention of Hysteria to the Democratizing of Gender (Routledge, 2010)
"This volume breaks new ground in opening up a dialogen the seemingly divergent ideas of psychoanalysts Donald Winnicott and Jacques Lacan. Essentially (but not entirely) a clinical book, the authors bring for discussion familiar concepts - transitional phenomena, the ego and the mirror stage, subjectivity, the true and false self, human nature, lack, among others - offering interpretations of their similarities and differences that challenge us anew in our understanding in the consulting room. Between Winnicott and Lacan stimulates us to question the relationships between different theoretical paradigms without collapsing them into a confusing eclecticism, and helps to refresh our approach to what is useful in the clinic." - Angela Joyce, Ph.D., co-editor, Reading Winnicott
"For Lacan, abstract theory and the function of the father are pivotal. For Winnicott, clinical practice and the presence of the mother are crucial. This difference is reflected in their most famous inventions: Lacan's objet a denotes an irretrievable lack, Winnicott�...
