Attachment, Play, and Authenticity: A Winnicott Primer

252 Pages·2008·10.92 MB·English

by  Steven Tuber

ATTACHMENT, PLAY,
AND AUTHENTICITY

ATTACHMENT,
PLAY, AND
AUTHENTICITY
A Winnicott Primer
Steven Tuber
JASON ARONSON
Lanham • Boulder • New York • Toronto • Plymouth, UK
Published in the United Stales of America
by Jason Aronson
i\n imprint of Howman & Littlefield Publishers, lne.
i\ wholly owned subsidiary of
The Bowman & Lilllcficlcl Publishing Group, Inc.
450 I Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706
www.rowmanlittleficlcl.com
!:stover Hoacl
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United Kingdom
Copyright !0 200H by Steven Tuber
J\ll rights reserl'ed. No part of this publication may he reproduced stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recorcling, or otherwise, without the prior permission
of the publisher.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Tuber, Steven, I '!'54-
Allachmcnt, play and authenticity : a Winnicoll primer I Steven Tuber.
p.; em.
Includes bibliographical references and inclex.
ISilN-13: Y7H-0-7657-0541-'J (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-7657-0541-9 (cloth: aile paper)
ISnN-13: Y7H-0-7657-0'542-6 (phk. : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-76'57-0542-7 (pbk.: alk. paper)
I. Winnicolt, D. W. (Donalcl Woocls), IHY6-IY71. 2. Child analysis. 3. Infant
psychology. 4. Play--Psychological aspects. '5. Mother and infant. I. Title.
IDNLM: I. Winnicott, D. W. (Donalcl Woods), IH96-1971. 2. Child
Psychology. 3. Play and Playthings. 4. iVIother-Chilcl lklations. 5.
Psychoanalytic Theory. 6. Psychoanalytic Therapy. WS I 05. 5. P5 THH'ia 200H J
11J504.2.TH3 200H
61H.'!2'H'JI4--dc22 2007037410
Printccl in the United States of America
~TM
'e:J The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
1\merican National Standard for Information Scicnces-l'crmanencc of Paper for
Printed Library Materials, 1\NSI/N ISO Z3'J .4H-19'J2.
This book is lovingly dedicated to the three people who would
appreciate it most:
Max Tuber
Bella Tuber
And
Dr. Goldye Meyer
And to the three people I cherish the most:
Jacob Tuber
Savi Tuber
And
Dr. Jodie Meyer
You have all been far more than a "good enough" holding
environment for me.

Contents
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xi
1. Overview
2. Dialectical Meaning-Making in Infancy 17
3. A Good Object Must Be Found in Order to Be Created 31
4. The True Self and False Compliance 49
5. We Are Essentially Isolates, with the Capacity
to Be Alone 6 7
6 .. Using Objects and the Capacity to Hate 85
7. Integrating Theory with Therapy: The Case of Bob 101
8. The Meaning and Power of Play 119
9. The Mind, the Body, and the World of
Transitional Phenomena 139
vii
viii CONTENTS
10. Hate in the Countertransference 161
11. The Antisocial Tendency 17 7
12. The Aims of Psychoanalytic Treatment 195
13. Winnicott as Therapist More Than Theorist 213
Bibliography 229
Index 233
About the Author 237
Preface
IN MY THIH'IY YEAHS OF BEING ENGHOSSED in the intertwining fields
of child diagnosis and child therapy, the clinical acumen and hu
manity of D. W. Winnicott have always been something to aspire
to, something to cherish, and something almost limitless in their
usefulness. I write this book, therefore, in large part to pay hom
age to the man and his work. In some small but real way, I believe
that in teaching his work to my students, I help expand them the
way he has expanded me. This book will not be a biography, nor a
comprehensive review of his work, nor a complete distillation of
his ideas by theme. I think that a respectful way to approach his
work is to think dynamically, in the literal sense of that word. I
will attempt to see and play with his ideas as a presentation of
paradoxes, never fully resolvable by words alone, yet capable of
stirring us to find greater and deeper meanings to even the sim
plest of gestures, squiggles, and words, both in the consulting
room and beyond. Therefore I'd like you, the reader, to approach
this book with paradox and dilemma solving/making as your frame
of reference. The book is derived from a series of lectures I have
given to my graduate students in the doctoral program in clinical
psychology of the City University of New York at City College.
Most chapters will begin with a dilemma or paradox that Winni
cott has posed for us and will focus on a close reading of one or
two of his articles that speak most directly to this conundrum
ix