On teaching Winnicott: the charms and challenges of Winnicott's concepts

This article examines the responses of students on being introduced to several of Winnicott's major concepts: transitional space, illusion, good enough mothering, true and false self. Building on Ogden's idea that Winnicott's style of writing and form of presentation is inseparable from the ideas he wishes to convey, this article shows how students evolved a developmental framework for themselves with the aid of Winnicott's theory. The new theory itself becomes a transitional object for further use and elaboration. Various examples of student's responses to the paper on transitional phenomena are cited, in addition to an examination of their responses to the application of transitional theory to organisations.