Playing and Becoming in Psychoanalysis

Description

Building on Winnicott’s theory of play, this book defines the concept of play from the perspective of clinical practice, elaborating on its application to clinical problems. Although Winnicott’s theory of play constitutes a radical understanding of the intersubjectivity of therapy, Cooper contends, there remains a need to explore the significance of play to the enactment of transference-countertransference. Among several ideas, this book considers how to help patients as they navigate debilitating internal object relations, supporting them to engage with "bad objects" in alternatively playful ways. In addition, throughout the book, Cooper develops an ethic of play that can support the analyst to find "ventilated spaces" of their own, whereby they can reflect on transference-countertransference. Rather than being hindered by the limits of the therapeutic setting, this book explores how possibilities for play can develop out of these very constraints, ultimately providing a fulsome exploration of the concept without eviscerating its magic. With a broad theoretical base, and a wide definition of play, this book will appeal to psychoanalysts and psychoanalytic psychotherapists wanting to understand how play functions within and can transform their clinical practice. Cover Endorsements Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Contents Acknowledgments Credits List Introduction References Chapter 1: Playing in the Darkness: Use of the Object and Use of the Subject Introduction Play as a Link between the Unsymbolized and Symbolized: Linking Freud and Winnicott The Incommunicado and Unsymbolized Experience Return to Sam How Are We New in the Process of Play and Symbolization? Note References Chapter 2: Toward an Ethic of Play in Psychoanalysis William Peter Nina Discussion Note References Chapter 3: The Limits of Intimacy and the Intimacy of Limits: Play and the Internal Bad Object Henry: Part 1 Henry: Part 2 Discussion References Chapter 4: The Paradox of Play in Mourning Introduction: Play and Mourning Elizabeth Bishop's "One Art": An Example of Play as a Link to Grieving Case Vignettes Rachael Julie Discussion: Mourning and the Ethics of Play References Chapter 5: A Theory of the Setting: The Transformation of Unrepresented Experience and Play A Brief Review of the Setting Concept The Objects in the Setting and the Setting in the Object Case Vignette 1 Case Vignette 2 Play at the Seam between Unrepresented and Represented Experience Clinical Vignette 1 Clinical Vignette 2 Concluding Remarks Note References Chapter 6: "I Want You to Be": Thinking about Winnicott's View of Interpretation in Ontological and Epistemological Psychoanalysis Winnicott's Contribution to the Understanding of Interpretation What Do We Mean by Being and Being in Time? Further Understanding What We Mean by Ontological Psychoanalysis: Bridging the Epistemological and Ontological Divide Coda References Chapter 7: Donald Winnicott's Play and Stephen Mitchell's Developmental Tilt Hypothesis Reconsidered Introduction Winnicott as a Theorist Who Emphasized the Continuity and Perpetuity of Psychic Engagement Mitchell's Characterization of Winnicott as Proposing "Simple" Provision More on Being a "Good Object or Replacement Object" and Play A Note about Winnicott's Ontological Psychoanalysis and the Developmental Tilt Concluding Remarks Note References Index