Selected for Solitude: A Case Report of Loneliness.

The U.S. Surgeon General, Vivek Murthy, recently declared loneliness a public health epidemic. For therapists, that is not likely to be a surprise: Loneliness is so common in people who seek therapy that it might be seen as the bread and butter of our work. Despite that, there has not been much serious examination of intrapsychic factors that may contribute to this painful condition. Public discourse has focused instead on cultural and societal causes of loneliness, and on practical steps that might be taken to decrease it. But practical advice is not always sufficient for people with longstanding loneliness. Longstanding loneliness may be fueled by intrapsychic dynamics and become embedded in character. In some cases, patients may relish companionship yet steadfastly avoid it in an attempt to master early childhood experiences of being emotionally neglected and deprived of love. They were starved of love as children and now choose to starve themselves in an unconscious attempt to master early deprivation by identifying with the aggressor. For patients like this, chronic loneliness may signal a certain kind of attachment disorder, for it is the visible sign of early attachment to a distant or rejecting parental figure. Loneliness of that kind can be a stubborn problem and one that poses a considerable therapeutic challenge.

The Risk of the Revelatory State.

Patients enter states that in their spontaneity and deep interiority have qualities of the revelatory. I propose we recognize such a state as a clinical event: The person is in a state of intense internal receiving of self. We might think of it as a state of internal communication happening as the person speaks. The person feels real to herself. Her relation to her mind in this revelatory moment is easily intruded on-even by ventures of play. When the state is gone, it is gone. I single out this clinical moment from moments that are cocreated and happening within an analytic third. I argue that in the revelatory moment, a patient builds capacities to be present for pain, desire-for raw experiences ordinarily difficult to access. The state makes a strict demand on the analyst. I see it as a moment of object usage-that is, it is a moment of risk with the analyst. This moment challenges and deepens our understanding of Winnicott's usage formulation.

Friston, Free Energy, and Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy.

This paper outlines the ways in which Karl Friston's work illuminates the everyday practice of psychotherapists. These include (a) how the strategic ambiguity of the therapist's stance brings, via 'transference', clients' priors to light; (b) how the unstructured and negative capability of the therapy session reduces the salience of priors, enabling new top-down models to be forged; (c) how fostering self-reflection provides an additional step in the free energy minimization hierarchy; and (d) how Friston and Frith's 'duets for one' can be conceptualized as a relational zone in which collaborative free energy minimization takes place without sacrificing complexity.

"Bound Tightly in the Pack": Cloth and Care in I Never Promised You a Rose Garden.

Talk therapy is, by definition, difficult, if not impossible, to represent materially. Whereas other scholars have sought to do so by referencing Sigmund Freud's drawings or the setting of his consulting room, this article looks instead to the use of cloth in Joanne Greenberg's 1964 semiautobiographical novel I Never Promised You a Rose Garden. The two main treatments given to protagonist Deborah Blau were therapy sessions with Dr. Clara Fried, based on Frieda Fromm-Reichmann, and the "cold pack," in which the patient was restrained and wrapped in sheets drenched with ice water. The two treatments, this article argues, can be considered in parallel, and through analysis of the material descriptions of the cold pack, one can learn more about the talking cure. Namely, this article analyzes the care in both cases as one of constraint, giving material form to the metaphorical "holding environment" of psychoanalyst D. W. Winnicott. Deborah uses the cold pack to endure her psychosis and return to reality. Similarly, Winnicott describes the ideal therapeutic space as one that, by its reliability, allows regression in service of finding a new self and distinguishing between fantasy and the outside world. The aim of this article is thus twofold: one, to further elucidate the role of cloth in treating mental distress, and two, to understand more fully the therapeutic relationship via the literal and figurative constraint of treatment.

The Good-Enough Donor: Sperm as a Good, Not-Me Possession.

Reproductive endocrinologists often recommend sperm donation to two groups of patients. The first are women with partners with azoospermia. The second are women who do not have a partner and yet desire to become a parent. This article focuses on a subset of women in these two groups who hesitate to accept this recommendation from their reproductive endocrinologist. Winnicott's writings on transitional phenomena, especially his description of how the infant creates good, not-me possessions, may be helpful in our understanding of some of these women's fantasies of sperm as a bad, not-me possession. Case material is used to highlight treatment recommendations that utilize a reframing of the understanding of the donor's motivation, which may create the possibility of an acceptance of sperm as a good, not-me possession. This moves the patient toward what Winnicott calls acknowledgement of indebtedness and toward what the patient may perceive as a good-enough donor.

Abolishing the Captivity of a Tyrannized Woman: Evidence of Bion's Concept of the Contact-Barrier as Manifested in Dreams.

Bion's notion of the contact-barrier formulates a semipermeable membrane responsible for preserving the distinction between the conscious and the unconscious. However, the question of how a newly established contact-barrier manifests itself in dreams remains unanswered. The author proposes that one such manifestation occurs when a patient sees themself asleep in a dream. A case of a severely traumatized woman who had difficulty thinking and being close to others is used to explore these clinical ideas. The author, in response to his reveries in a session, introduced a playful dream-like dialogue between a playwright and his reader. The nature of the communication, in functioning as a barrier, served to protect the patient from a tyrannizing reality: the therapist's sexuality. This intersubjective barrier helped the patient to contact dissociated and damaged parts of herself, and it also facilitated her ability to dream a sense of her own boundaries, femininity, and sexuality.

Cuidados maternos primários e gênese dos transtornos alimentares na perspectiva de mães de jovens com anorexia e bulimia / Primary maternal care and the genesis of eating disorders from the perspective of mothers of young people with anorexia and bulimia / Atención materna primaria y génesis de los trastornos alimentarios desde la perspectiva de madres de personas con anorexia y bulimia

A teoria psicanalítica postula que as raízes emocionais dos transtornos alimentares (TAs) remontam à relação precoce mãe-filha. Este estudo qualitativo teve como objetivo investigar os significados atribuídos por mães de pacientes com anorexia e bulimia às experiências de gravidez, parto, puerpério e cuidados básicos oferecidos às filhas nos primeiros anos de vida. Participaram sete mães cujas filhas encontravam-se em seguimento em um serviço especializado para TAs. Os dados foram coletados por meio de entrevista aberta e organizados em categorias de acordo com a análise temática reflexiva. Os resultados foram discutidos à luz da Teoria do Amadurecimento Emocional de Winnicott. As experiências relacionadas à maternidade e aos cuidados maternos foram marcadas por frustrações e emoções negativas, com poucas recordações de vivências gratificantes advindas da assunção ao papel de mãe. São discutidas as repercussões emocionais da não elaboração de conflitos transgeracionais recebidos das gerações anteriores e transmitidos sem transformação pelas mães, o que contribui para inibir o amadurecimento emocional das filhas, guardando possível relação com a vulnerabilidade aos sintomas de TAs. (AU)

Psychoanalytic theory postulates that the emotional foundations of eating disorders (EDs) rest in the early mother-daughter relationship. This qualitative study aimed to investigate the meanings attributed by mothers of patients with anorexia and bulimia to the experiences of pregnancy, childbirth, puerperium, and basic care provided to their daughters in the first years of life. Participants included 7 mothers whose daughters were being treated in a specialized service for EDs. Data were collected by open interviews and organized into categories according to reflexive thematic analysis. Results were discussed in light of Winnicott's Theory of Human Maturation. The experiences related to motherhood and maternal care were marked by frustrations and negative emotions, with few memories of rewarding experiences with the assumption of the maternal role. The potential repercussions arising from the non-elaboration of intergenerational conflicts inherited and transmitted without transformation by mothers were discussed. These implications could potentially hinder the emotional maturation of daughters, establishing a close relation with the symptoms of EDs. (AU)

La teoría psicoanalítica postula que las bases emocionales de los trastornos alimentarios (TAs) descansan en la relación temprana madre-hija. Este estudio cualitativo tuvo como objetivo investigar los significados atribuidos por madres de pacientes con anorexia y bulimia a las vivencias del embarazo, parto, puerperio y cuidados básicos brindados a sus hijas en los primeros años de vida. Participaron siete madres cuyas hijas estaban siendo atendidas en un servicio especializado en TAs. Los datos fueron recolectados por entrevista abierta y organizados en categorías de acuerdo con el análisis temático reflexivo. Los resultados fueron discutidos a la luz de la Teoría del Desarrollo Emocional de Winnicott. Las experiencias relacionadas con la maternidad y el cuidado materno estuvieron marcadas por frustraciones y emociones negativas, con pocos recuerdos de experiencias gratificantes con la asunción del rol materno. Se discuten las posibles repercusiones de la no elaboración de conflictos transgeneracionales recibidos y transmitidos sin transformación por parte de las madres, lo que contribuye a inhibir la maduración emocional de las hijas, guardando una estrecha relación con los síntomas de los TAs. (AU)

Pragmatism or idealism: a systematic review and visual analysis of Winnicott's psychoanalytical treatment views.

Winnicott is an outstanding representative of the School of Object Relations, and his unique psychoanalytic treatment views have been greatly influential to the psychoanalytical community. Winnicott emphasizes the impact of facilitating environment and the key role of the maternal-child relationship in the early psychological growth of individuals. He puts forward the ideas of the development mechanism of the true self and the false self, which builds a bridge between the characteristics of adult psychopathology and the characteristics of early maternal-child relationships, providing a new perspective for research on individual self-development and psychoanalysis. Winnicott creatively introduces the concepts of the transitional object and the transitional phenomena into the theories of Object Relations. He relates the transitional experience to the field of mental health, and extends it from the relationship between the mother and the child to adult life, which not only has had a revolutionary impact on modern psychoanalysis but also literature, aesthetics, and other fields. Winnicott highlights the importance of the patient's emotional development in the treatment. He advocates holding the patients' sentiments and meeting their emotional needs. He also approves of the emotional reparenting of the patients, to make them gain the ability to establish a relationship with the real world. His treatment views formed through a large number of clinical practices are very practical and full of humanistic care. This review summarizes Winnicott's psychoanalytical treatment views as well as his marvelous original concepts, and analyzes the hot topics of academic research on his theories based on a visualization analysis by using the software CiteSpace, which includes data in the Web of Science Core Collection published from 1978 to 2023 with 365 papers involved. The study provides a macroscopic and panoramic review of Winnicott's theories, and it clearly shows Winnicott's significant influence on the field of psychoanalysis and related fields.

A clinical seminar on Spinoza and Bion: a conversation between Miller AND Koritar.

The present transcript follows an online discussion held on April 3, 2022, between Ian Miller, author of Clinical Spinoza: Integrating His Philosophy with Contemporary Therapeutic Practice (2022), and Endre Koritar.

A Metapsychology of the Unrepresented.

The terms unrepresented and unrepresented states are increasingly being referred to in psychoanalytic discourse, without our having established a generally agreed upon consensus about their definition, use or meaning. While these particular designations were never used by Freud, a careful reading of his work reveals them to be qualities that characterize the initial state of both the drive and perception. This paper attempts to place these terms in a clinically useful, metapsychological perspective by reviewing their conceptual origin in Freud and examining their elaboration and clinical relevance in the work of Bion, Winnicott, and Green. These concepts should prove especially useful for understanding and addressing problems presented by non-neurotic patients and psychic organizations and will help expand the reach and efficacy of psychoanalytic understanding and technique to increasing numbers of contemporary patients.

As vozes do Programa Criança Feliz: desafios e potencialidades / The voices of the Program Criança Feliz: challenges and potentiality

Resumo: Realizou-se pesquisa em três municípios com participantes do Programa Criança Feliz (PCF), que visa promover o desenvolvimento integral infantil. Familiares e equipes foram entrevistados, com posterior análise qualitativa, fundamentada pela teoria de Winnicott. Os resultados mostram que burocracia, insegurança jurídica e financeira fragilizam o PCF, enquanto visita domiciliar e fortalecimento de vínculos auxiliaram as famílias a estarem atentas às necessidades infantis.

Abstract: The research was held in three Brazilian cities with participants from Program Criança Feliz (PCF), which aims to stimulate integral development. Family members and staff were interviewed, with posterior qualitative analysis, based on Winnicott's theory. The results show that bureaucratic, legal and financial issues make the PCF fragile, whereas home visiting and bond strengthening helped families to be attentive towards children's needs.

Psicanálise e educação: da educação impossível ao melhor caminho possível / Psicoanálisis y educación: de la educación imposible al mejor camino posible / Psychoanalysis and Education: from the impossible education to the best path possible / Psychanalyse et éducation: de l'impossible éducation au meilleur chemin possible

Este artigo de revisão bibliográfica se inscreve no campo Psicanálise e Educação e visa a analisar o impossível da educação - como concebido por Freud - em sua interface com uma melhor educação possível em Winnicott. O estudo, que teve como base principalmente os referidos psicanalistas, apresenta o educador implicado subjetivamente como fundamental para o desenvolvimento do educando na medida em que possibilita a quem se encontra em formação, que se identifique com a sociedade sem demasiado sacrifício da espontaneidade pessoal. Conclui-se que a importância da tarefa docente está muito além da aplicação de técnicas ou modelos didáticos, uma vez que a docência pressupõe a sujeição à experiência da formação humana, em nível inconsciente, sujeição que possibilita que uma educação suficientemente boa emerja a partir do real da educação

Este artículo de revisión bibliográfica se inscribe en el campo Psicoanálisis y Educación y analiza lo imposible de la educación - concebido por Freud - en su interface con una mejor educación posible en Winnicott. El estúdio que fue basado en los referidos psicoanalistas, presenta el educador implicado de modo subjetivo como fundamental para el desarrollo del educando al posibilitar, a quien se forma, que se identifique con la sociedad sin demasiado sacrificio de su espontaneidad. Se concluye que la importancia del hacer docente va mucho más allá de la aplicación de técnicas o modelos didácticos, ya que la docencia supone sujeción a la experiencia de la formación humana, a nivel inconsciente, sujeción que hace posible que de ella surja una educación suficientemente buena, desde lo real de la educación

This article of bibliography revision is inserted in the Psychoanalysis and Education area and its scope is analyze the impossible of the education ­ as described by Freud ­ and its interface with a best possible education in Winnicott. This study, based mainly by referred psychoanalysts, presents the subjectively involved teacher as major factor to contribute to the development of the student when enables who is in formation to identify with the society without major compromise in own personal spontaneity. Concludes that the value within teaching is far from applying technics and didactic models, once teaching requires being submitted to the experience in the human development, in which in an unconscious level, this submission makes possible to a good enough education to emerge from the real of the education

Cet article de revue bibliographique s'inscrit dans le champ Psychanalyse et Éducation et vise à analyser l'impossible de l'éducation - telle que conçue par Freud - dans son interface avec une meilleure éducation possible chez Winnicott. L'étude, qui s'appuie sur les psychanalystes précités, présente l'éducateur subjectivement impliqué comme fondamental pour le développement de l'apprenant dans la mesure où il permet aux personnes en formation de s'identifier à la société sans trop sacrifier sa spontanéité. Il est conclu que l'importance de la tâche d'enseignement va bien au-delà de l'application de techniques ou de modèles didactiques, puisque l'enseignement présuppose une sujétion à l'expérience de la formation humaine, à un niveau inconscient, sujétion qui permet à une éducation suffisamment bonne émerger du réel de l'éducation

O cuidado infantil no pensamento winnicottiano à luz da Psicologia Psicanalítica Concreta / Infant care in winnicottian thought in the light of Concrete Psychoanalytic Psychology / El cuidado infantil en el pensamiento winnicottiano a la luz de la Psicología Psicoanalítica Concreta

Este texto objetiva demonstrar e debater, à luz da psicologia psicanalítica concreta, uma contradição vigente no pensamento winnicottiano, expressa pela coexistência de duas visões acerca do cuidado infantil e da maternidade. Organiza-se em três seções. Na primeira, apresenta a psicologia psicanalítica concreta como referencial teórico. Na segunda, explicita e detalha a contradição do pensamento winnicottiano sobre cuidado infantil e maternidade. Na terceira, articula uma leitura do texto winnicottiano a partir da psicologia psicanalítica concreta, situando-a como convergente com a ontologia do ser social de Lukács. Por fim, indica a possibilidade de conhecimentos psicanalíticos colocarem-se a serviço de iniciativas a favor de transformações sociais que buscam superação de visões essencialistas sobre a maternidade.

The aim of this article is to demonstrate and debate, in the light of concrete psychoanalytic psychology, a current contradiction in winnicottian thought expressed by the coexistence of two visions over infant care and motherhood. The reflections on the matter are shown in three sections. Firstly, concrete psychoanalytic psychology as a theoretical framework is set. Secondly, explanation and details on the contradiction of winnicottian thinking about infant care and motherhood are discussed. Thirdly, the articulation on a view of a winnicottian's text from the point of view of concrete psychoanalytic psychology placing it as convergent with Lukács's ontology of social being is presented. Finally, the possibility of psychoanalytic knowledge being put at the service of initiatives in favor of social transformations seeking to overcome essentialist views on motherhood is indicated.

Este texto pretende demostrar y debatir, bajo la égida de la psicología psicoanalítica concreta, una contradicción imperante en el pensamiento de Winnicott, expresada por la coexistencia de dos visiones sobre el cuidado infantil y la maternidad. Está organizado en tres secciones. En la primera, presenta la psicología psicoanalítica concreta como marco teórico. En la segunda, explica y detalla la contradicción del pensamiento de Winnicott sobre el cuidado infantil y la maternidad. En la tercera, articula una lectura del texto winnicottiano basada en la psicología psicoanalítica concreta, situándolo como convergente con la ontología del ser social de Lukács. Finalmente, indica la posibilidad de poner el conocimiento psicoanalítico al servicio de iniciativas a favor de cambios sociales que busquen superar las visiones esencialistas sobre la maternidad.

O Caps como espaço potencial: diálogos com a teoria winnicottiana / The Caps as a potential space: dialogues with Winnicottian theory

RESUMO Apoiada no movimento de redemocratização e da Reforma Sanitária, a Reforma Psiquiátrica constituiu a base para o modelo utilizado em serviços substitutivos, como o Centro de Atenção Psicossocial (Caps), um dispositivo de promoção de saúde mental. Por seus objetivos e funções, viu-se a possibilidade de relacionar o Caps com o conceito de espaço potencial de Winnicott, definido como uma área intermediária entre as realidades psíquica e compartilhada, na qual se pode ser criativo ao invés de somente adaptado. Procurou-se investigar se o Caps possui características de um espaço potencial no sentido winnicottiano. A pesquisa adotou a abordagem qualitativa, caracterizada como uma pesquisa em psicanálise, trabalhando com dados secundários. Selecionaram-se 14 trabalhos, incluindo dissertações, teses e artigos científicos publicados nos últimos dez anos. Na análise dos dados, procurou-se detectar a presença de condições do espaço potencial, como o holding, o handling e a apresentação de objetos, em atividades ou aspectos do funcionamento do Caps, como o acolhimento, o dispositivo Técnico de Referência, a provisão ambiental e o suporte institucional. Por fim, concluiu-se que, apesar de haver fatores que limitam a potencialidade do serviço, o manejo dos profissionais e a ambiência oferecem condições de o Caps operar como um espaço potencial.

ABSTRACT Supported by the redemocratization movement and the Health Reform, the Psychiatric Reform constituted the basis for the model used in substitute services, like the Psychosocial Care Center (CAPS), a device for the promotion of mental health. Due to its objectives and functions, we saw the possibility of relating CAPS with Winnicott's concept of potential space, an intermediate area between psychic and shared realities, where one can be creative, not just adapted. We tried to investigate whether the CAPS has characteristics of a potential space in the Winnicottian sense. The research adopted a qualitative approach and was characterized as a research in psychoanalysis, working with secondary data. 14 works were selected, including dissertations, theses, and scientific articles from the last ten years. In analyzing the data, we sought to detect the presence of conditions in the potential space, like the holding, handling, and presentation of objects, in activities or aspects of the functioning of the CAPS, such as reception, the Technical Reference device, environmental provision, and the institutional support. Finally, we concluded that, although there are factors that limit the potential of the service, the management of professionals and the ambience offer conditions for the CAPS to operate as a potential space.

Understanding of Holding Environment Through the Trajectory of Donald Woods Winnicott.

Personal life and achievements are the process and result of a person's past, present, and future interacting with each other. In this regard, if one fully understands the life and background of the person who developed the theory of psychoanalysis, one can understand and use the theory more appropriately. The holding environment theory developed by Donald Woods Winnicott is useful for understanding the process by which infants grow healthy under the care of a mother who is good enough. In this paper, the background of the birth of the holding environment theory is reviewed based on Winnicott's developmental background and marital life. He grew up with a holding environment from good enough 'multiple mothers'. Born with excellent athletic ability and musical talent, he was more curious than anyone else and particularly active in discovering new things. After the unhappy first marriage, Claire Britton's second marriage was happy academically and personally. Claire was a fellow paediatric psychoanalyst who published Winnicott's research and theories after his death. Psychoanalysis or psychotherapy itself can be a holding environment, and the holding environment theory can be applied to various fields in the digital era.

Back to the future: when children and adolescents return to office sessions following episodes of teletherapy.

Analysts and psychotherapists are beginning to have more thorough and probing discussions about how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected their work. Shifting to online teletherapy has been necessary due to the public health measures put in place to curtail the spread of the virus. Much of the existing literature addresses how using online platforms for teletherapy works for adults. This paper instead looks at its effects on working with children and adolescents. A contrast between Winnicott's notion of holding and Bion's concept of container-contained is reviewed through a summary of a paper by Ogden. This author finds that holding might be more applicable to online work during a pandemic when the collective relationship to time and its usual parameters is severely upended. Containing could be more arduous and challenging online due to the lack of embodied presence to communicate and detect tiny nonverbal cues. A short questionnaire affirms that child analysts and psychotherapists have struggled with dimensions of online work that are particular to the developmental levels of their patients. Further, teletherapy may often not be a good fit for someone with learning differences.

Les analystes et les psychothérapeutes commencent à avoir des discussions plus profondes et plus pointues sur comment la pandémie de COVID-19 a affecté leur travail. Passer à la thérapie en ligne a été nécessaire du fait des mesures de santé publique mises en place pour freiner l'avancée du virus. La majeure partie de la littérature s'intéresse à comment l'utilisation des plateformes en ligne pour la psychothérapie a fonctionné pour les adultes. Par contraste, cet article se penche sur les effets dans le travail avec les enfants et les adolescents. A travers un résumé d'un article d'Ogden, un contraste entre la notion de « holding ¼ de Winnicott et le concept de contenant-contenu de Bion est examiné. L'auteur soutient que la notion de holding serait plus adaptée au travail en ligne durant une pandémie, quand la relation collective au temps et à ses paramètres habituels est gravement perturbée. La contenance (Bion) pourrait s'avérer plus délicate et plus laborieuse en ligne du fait du manque de présence incarnée pour détecter et communiquer les signes non-verbaux. Un court questionnaire confirme que les analystes d'enfants et les psychothérapeutes ont eu du mal avec les aspects du travail en ligne qui se rapportent aux niveaux de développement de leurs patients. De plus, la télé-thérapie peut souvent ne pas être adaptée pour quelqu'un qui présente des différences d'apprentissages.

Analistas y psicoterapeutas están comenzando a tener discusiones más minuciosas y agudas sobre cómo la pandemia por el COVID-19 ha afectado su trabajo. El cambio a la terapia virtual ha sido necesario debido a las medidas de salud pública tomadas para reducir la propagación del virus. Gran parte de la literatura existente da cuenta de como el uso de plataformas para la terapia virtual funciona para los adultos. El presente trabajo en cambio, presta atención a los efectos en el trabajo con niños y adolescentes. Se revisa a través de un trabajo de Ogden, el contraste entre la noción de sostenimiento de Winnicott y el concepto de contenedor-contenido de Bion. Este autor encuentra que el sostenimiento puede aplicarse más al trabajo online durante una pandemia cuando la relación del colectivo con el tiempo y sus parámetros usuales es severamente trastocada. La contención podría ser más ardua y desafiante de manera online debido a la falta de una presencia corporal que comunique y permita detectar pequeñas señales no-verbales. Un breve cuestionario afirma que analistas y psicoterapeutas de niños han luchado con aquellas dimensiones del trabajo online propias del nivel de desarrollo de sus pacientes. Además, la terapia virtual puede a menudo no ser una buena opción para alguien con diferencias en el aprendizaje.

A Possible Anti-anxiety Effect of Appetitive Aggression and a Possible Link to the Work of Donald Winnicott.

Various pleasant sensations that give a particularly intense pleasure are able to improve anxiety. In the present study I consider the possibility that their anti-anxiety action depends on the strong pleasure they provide, and I propose a possible mechanism of this action. According to some studies, also appetitive aggression (an aggression that provokes a strong pleasure and that is performed only for the pleasure it provides) can improve anxiety, and in this article I consider the possibility that the pleasure of appetitive aggression is able to reduce anxiety by the same mechanism I have proposed for other intense pleasurable sensations. The aggression performed by a child against the mother or against a substitute for the mother in the first period of life (a period in which this aggression is not dangerous) is a recurring theme throughout the work of of Donald Winnicott. Winnicott stresses that this aggression is necessary for the normal development of the child, and that the child must be free to practise it. According to Winnicott, this aggression is highly pleasurable and is not a response to unpleasant or hostile external situations. For these characteristics it seems to correspond to appetitive aggression in the adult that has been found to be able to reduce anxiety. Consequently, aggression performed by the child in the first period of life may also relieve anxiety, in the same way that appetitive aggression helps against anxiety in the adult. In his writings, Winnicott returns several times to an unthinkable or archaic anxiety that children experience when they feel abandoned by their mother for a period that is too long for them, and all children, according to Winnicott, live on the brink of this anxiety. In this study I propose the hypothesis that aggression in the early period of life may be necessary for children because the intense pleasure it provides may help them against this continuously impending anxiety.

The Activity of Neutrality.

The author discusses the analyst's neutrality as an activity: a constantly moving position and an always-evolving process characterized by the analyst's thinking and curiosity about how to help the patient better know and become himself. The author maintains that neutrality is a cluster concept (Wittgenstein 1953) that includes a number of functions. Recent theoretical shifts regarding neutrality are briefly reviewed, and an illustrative clinical vignette is presented.

A dupla volta da subjetivação em Winnicott / The double turn of subjectivation in Winnicott / El doble giro de la subjetivación en Winnicott

O propósito principal deste texto é o de avaliar a pertinência do conceito de subjetivação à guisa da contribuição de Donald Winnicott. Tradicionalmente associadas ao desenvolvimentismo psicológico e mais recentemente ao identitarismo, as ideias do psicanalista inglês têm ficado de fora dos debates contemporâneos acerca da desconstrução do sujeito e da crítica às identidades. Pretendemos reposicionar Winnicott nesse debate avançando à ideia de uma subjetivação propriamente histórica e contingente, caracterizada pelo que chamamos de uma dupla volta, a primeira sendo a que organiza a posição pré-subjetiva que Winnicott chamou de being; e a segunda, a emergência do sujeito propriamente dito a partir da dialética da destruição x sobrevivência do outro.

In this paper, we aim to reassess the relevance of the concept of subjection in the guise of the contribution of Donald Winnicott. Traditionally associated to psychological development theories and more recently to identitarianism, the ideas of the English psychoanalyst are usually eschewed in contemporary debates regarding the deconstruction of the subject and the critique of identities. Advancing a repositioning of Winnicott in this debate, we propose the idea of a double turn, the first organizing the pre-subjective position that Winnicott named as being; and the second turn, the emergence of the subject itself from the dialectics of destruction x survival of the other.

El propósito principal de este texto es el de evaluar la relevancia del concepto de subjetivación bajo la contribución de Donald Winnicott. Asociadas tradicionalmente al desarrollismo psicológico y más recientemente al identitarismo, las ideas del psicoanalista inglés han quedado fuera de los debates contemporáneos sobre la deconstrucción del sujeto y la crítica de las identidades. Pretendemos reposicionar a Winnicott en este debate, avanzando la idea de una subjetivación propiamente histórica y contingente, caracterizada por lo que llamamos un doble giro, siendo el primero el que organiza la posición presubjetiva que Winnicott llamó ser; y el segundo, el surgimiento del sujeto propiamente dicho desde la dialéctica destrucción x supervivencia del otro.