Jan Abram, a leading British psychoanalyst and scholar of Winnicott, explores her groundbreaking concepts in this engaging discussion. She introduces the dual idea of surviving and non-surviving objects, emphasizing their impact on psychic health and therapy. Abram ties in the beauty of ukiyo-e art to illustrate maternal bonds and the child's perception of the world. She delves into gender dynamics, the nuances of transference, and critiques classical theories, all while highlighting the profound relationship between survival, emotion, and therapeutic joy.
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insights INSIGHT
Winnicottian Survival
Survival, in a Winnicottian sense, is an ongoing process.
It's about a continuous capacity to go beyond merely outliving.
insights INSIGHT
Object as Experience
Winnicott's object isn't a concrete thing, but a mental concept.
It represents the infant's subjective experience of the mother's responsiveness.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Japanese Artwork Example
Abram uses a Japanese ukiyo-e artwork to illustrate the mother-infant relationship.
It depicts a mother showing her baby a carp fish, symbolizing the introduction to the external world.
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Written in epistolary form, the novel tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a brilliant and ambitious scientist who, driven by Enlightenment-era ideas of progress and science, creates a living being from dead body parts. However, upon seeing the creature come to life, Frankenstein is horrified and abandons it. The creature, shunned by society due to its appearance, seeks revenge against its creator, leading to a series of tragic events. The novel explores themes of guilt, loss, and the emotional and moral consequences of scientific hubris, blending elements of Gothic and Romantic literature.
The Surviving Object: Psychoanalytic Clinical Essays on Psychic Survival-Of-The-Object
The Surviving Object: Psychoanalytic Clinical Essays on Psychic Survival-Of-The-Object
Psychoanalytic Clinical Essays on Psychic Survival-Of-The-Object
Jan Abram
Jan Abram's "The Surviving Object" delves into the complexities of psychic survival through a Winnicottian lens. The book explores the concept of intrapsychic surviving and non-surviving objects, examining how early relationships shape the development of the infant's psyche. Abram's clinical vignettes illustrate the practical application of these concepts, highlighting the importance of the analyst's role in facilitating the patient's journey towards psychic health. The work challenges traditional psychoanalytic perspectives, offering a nuanced understanding of survival as an ongoing process rather than a mere outcome. The book's exploration of the mother-infant relationship and the impact of the paternal integrate provides a rich and insightful contribution to psychoanalytic theory.
Catch Them Before They Fall
Christopher Bollas
Christopher Bollas's "Catch Them Before They Fall" explores the complexities of severe psychological distress and the challenges faced by clinicians in working with patients on the brink of breakdown. The book delves into the intense therapeutic relationship required in such cases, highlighting the importance of empathy, attunement, and the analyst's capacity to withstand the patient's projections. Bollas emphasizes the need for a flexible and responsive approach, adapting to the patient's unique needs and vulnerabilities. The book offers a profound exploration of the therapeutic process, emphasizing the transformative potential of the analytic encounter even in the face of extreme suffering. It serves as a valuable resource for clinicians working with severely disturbed individuals.
Playing and reality
D.W. Winnicott
In this book, Winnicott discusses how the attentive nurturing of creativity from the earliest years allows individuals to enjoy a rich and rewarding cultural life. He delves into the concept of transitional objects, the importance of the mother-child relationship, and how play transitions into cultural experiences. The book emphasizes the significance of play in personal development, creativity, and the formation of the self, highlighting that being creative is essential for meaningful living and that it is a form of being alive and feeling that life is worth living[1][3][4].
Clinician and psychoanalyst Jan Abram proposes and elaborates the dual concept of an intrapsychic surviving and non surviving object. She extends Winnicottian technique by highlighting the centrality of the analysand playing with the object. Across eight chapters she develops this theory of survival, while also exploring the terror of non-survival, and its implications for psychic health, the fear of WOMAN as underlying misogny; Winnicott's theory of desire; and the role of the father as part of a paternal integrate. Abram draws on the work of André Green and Thomas Ogden, and also makes use of a Japanese ukiyo-e to visualize her argument.
This is an extraordinary volume on Winnicottian metapsychlogy by its foremost scholar, opening up some of the lesser known aspects of Winnicott's work. The Surviving Object: Psychoanalytic Clinical Essays on Psychic Survival-Of-The-Object (Routledge, 2021) transcends an established context of reference that emphasizes holding, by honing in on questions of formlessness, the significance of survival, and the incommunicado core. Furthermore, Abram asserts the intrapsychic dimension of the surviving object, thereby crucially rectifying the view that Winnicottian clinical practice is purely interpersonal.
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