Holding and Containing: On the Specificity of Winnicott’s Object Relations Theory

Jan Abram presents a two-part seminar series exploring the specificity of Winnicott’s object relations theory.

Saturday 30th May | 9:00 – 14:00 Winnicott reads Freud

This part examines the meaning of holding and containing in relation to the specificity of Winnicott’s object relations theory. The holding concept refers to the psychic receptivity of the ‚environment mother‘ while containing, Jan suggests, is an aspect of holding that signifies the mother’s ability to psychically survive as the ‚object mother‘ during the infant’s very early moments. Jan highlights how Winnicott was influenced by Freud’s footnote of 1911 when he exclaimed ‚there’s no such thing as a baby‘!

Sunday 31st May | 9:00 – 14:00 Winnicott writes to Bion

After Bion presented his paper ‚Differentiation of the psychotic from the non psychotic personalities‘ Winnicott wrote him a letter on October 7th, 1955. Jan will examine Winnicott’s suggestion to Bion of a different interpretation that takes account of the patient’s early psychic environment. This will lead on to her interpretation of Winnicott’s ‚use of an object‘ that illuminates the ‚momentous step‘ towards maturity and the capacity to live in a world of perceived objects.

About Professor Jan Abram PhD

Jan Abram is a training and supervising analyst of the British Psychoanalytical Society and in private practice in London. She is President of the European Psychoanalytical Federation and Visiting Professor of the Psychoanalysis Unit, University College London.

Jan Abram has published several books and articles notably:

• The Language of Winnicott (1996, Outstanding Academic Book of the Year 1997, 2nd edition 2007, Classic Book PEP)
• Donald Winnicott Today (2013, shortlisted for a Gradiva Award)
• The Clinical Paradigms of Melanie Klein and Donald Winnicott: comparisons and dialogues (co-authored with R.D. Hinshelwood, Routledge 2018)
• The Surviving Object: psychoanalytic clinical essays on psychic survival-of-the-object (Routledge 2022)
• The Clinical Paradigms of Donald Winnicott and Wilfred Bion: comparisons and dialogues (co-authored with R.D. Hinshelwood, 2023, shortlisted for a Gradiva Award)

More information: janabram.com

Contact: babik@psychoanalyza.sk