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by Margaret Boyle Spelman, Karnac Books Ltd, London, 2013, 168 pp.
Dr. Spelman, who has published previously on the contributions of D.W. Winnicott, offers in this volume a vibrant, alive appreciation of the application of Winnicott's theories, with a rich section devoted to "baby observation." The fact alone that Spelman uses the term "baby observation" rather than "infant observation" conveys the naturalness and humanism of her devotion to Winnicott's work, her recognition of the naturalness and humanism of his approach to understanding development relationally.
The book is organized in six chapters, the first four focusing on a major aspect of Winnicott's thinking, transitional space, in relation to the origins of his theories, and the importance of transitional space in the child's developing independence from the original object, while maintaining relationality. The last two chapters are journal entries of baby observation, bringing theory alive, as it is connected so intimately to what actually can be seen, noted, interpreted. This is of major importance, because so many psychoanalytic institutes offer excellent education in the theory of psychoanalysis, and clinical experience with adults, but do not offer courses in infant observation. If indeed those psychoanalytic institutes ever do offer such courses, I hope they will call them baby observation courses.
Adding to the charm of this humanistic and scholarly book is how personal the writing is. Spelman begins not with a preface alone, nor a prologue alone, but both. She begins, in the preface, by saying, "This book marks many beginnings. It retraces the beginning of my personal journey as a psychodynamic psychotherapist and my simultaneous discovery of the thinking of D.W. Winnicott (1896-1971), paediatrician, psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, communicator, broadcaster,...