The Emotional World of the Child - Psychoanalysis
So much of what shapes us begins in the small, unseen exchanges between a mother and her child. What if the path to resilience and emotional health is not about being perfect, but simply being “good enough”?
Motherhood and the role of a mother have had significant influences on studies involving human behaviour across the history of psychology. This is borne out of a realisation that mothering is vital for the emotional and physical development of the child (Rustin, 2006). In other words, motherhood is essential in fostering the psychosocial wellbeing of infants into healthy adults across generations (Beebe & Lachmann, 2014). This role is augmented by the sheer number of psychotherapeutic and psychoanalytic theories developed over time, that stress on maternal aspects and roles in developing a healthy mother-infant therapeutic relationship (Anzieu-Premmereur, 2017). The work of Melanie Klein has greatly influenced Winnicott's psychoanalytic concept and therefore, there is a need to explore this influence here. The focus of this paper is to assess the role of a mother in the development of such a relationship, in line with the idea advanced by Winnicott with the "good enough mother".
Contributions of Melanie Klein
Melanie Klein was a psychoanalyst whose ideas and work centred on child phantasies and anxieties. Her work on child analysis was initially based on Freud's concepts and theories on understanding the psychic trio apparatus namely, the ego, id, and super-ego. Klein contended that the depressive position played an essential role in the life of an infant, and more so during his first year of life. For Klein, a mother's breast acted as the main sources of frustration and pleasure for the infant (Klein, 1952). This presented the infant with a problem that Klein described as the double relation to the breast.
Klein's evidence of child's play techniques differed significantly with the theory advanced by Freud regarding the Oedipus complex. Freud was of the view that the libidinal instincts of a child gained prominence for the initial three to four years. The process is deeply influenced by the development of the super-ego (Hughes, 1989). In this case, there is a tendency for the child to introject either the male or female parental figure. This introjection turns into internalisation.
The Oedipal stage impacts on objects-relations and by extension, contributes to the development of the super-ego. Klein's observation revealed that the processes of the Oedipal stage had already developed in children of between two and three years and were therefore in operation (Klein, 1952). As a result, Klein deemed it necessary to assess “the development of the superego in the earliest days of life." Ultimately, Klein stated that such important behavioural developments took place during the initial six months in the life of a child.
For many psychoanalytic theorists, child behaviour acts as a strong basis for understanding adult behaviour. Nonetheless, Levin (2014) suggests that before we can begin to understand child behaviour, there is the need to first come to terms with the world that they live in. Additionally, we need to also understand that a child's world “is not simply the adult's world in miniature” (Beales, Jr., 1975). In other words, we must desist form viewing children as small adults because they are not. Instead, Larcher (2015) suggest that children should be seen as individuals in transition. For this reason, adults, and in particular, mothers, must back, promote and enable their growth.
Klein uses the term ‘paranoid-schizoid position' in reference to a collection of defences, anxieties, external and internal objects relations that she perceived as being typical of an infant's early months of life. Such objects relations extend into childhood and adulthood. The main attribute of the paranoid-schizoid position involves the ability to split the object and self into bad and good. According to Klein, infants experience significant anxiety owing to the trauma they endure at birth. Other sources of anxiety in infants include frustration and hunger. Consequently, the infant relies on phantasies of projections, splitting and introjection to address such anxieties. The infant's object and ego are split into hating and loving feelings and this is in turn projected into the breast. The hating feelings are directed at the bad breast, while the loving feelings are directed to the good breast. Klein suggests that such 'binary splitting' is vital for the healthy development of an infant. This is because it allows an infant to embrace good experiences while also creating a platform for the integration of conflicting features of the self.
Klein perceives that the “depressive position” encompasses a conflict between the child's inner worlds and the outer world. It begins from the first year and progresses gradually. The child starts to gain awareness of love-hate feelings towards his mother. It entails an integration of bad and good elements. The child begins to recognise that the mother who shows love to him is the same mother who can be the source of frustration. In other words, the child begins to appreciate that the bad breast and good breast belongs to the same mother. In this way, the depressive position integrates split elements as identified under the paranoid schizoid position.
Winnicott's theory of child development
Donald Winnicott made a huge contribution to the field of psychoanalysis. He was a firm believer that a child's “inherited tendency toward development” comes naturally (Winnicott, 2002, p. 179). This draws a distinction from the notion of aggressive and sexual drives as key drivers of human behaviour, as advanced by Sigmund Freud. Winnicott was convinced that if babies have access to the right emotional and physical environment, they tend to develop naturally. Moreover, Winnicott believed that the provision of suitable nurturing conditions to babies comes naturally to most mothers.
Winnicott states that children intrinsically attained a self-determining existence (Winnicott, 1960). Winnicott reflected the human as a whole, as opposed to consideration of internal structures that define the traditional Freudian views. The focal point of Winnicott's theories of child development is his conviction that during early life, an infant is completely dependent on their caregiver. Such total dependence, according to Winnicott, is natural and healthy, at least in the initial stages of the life of an infant. This led Winnicott to make a controversial assertion to the effect that “there is no such thing as a baby” (Winnicott, 1964, p. 88). Here, Winnicott was intent on emphasising the level of dependence that to his mind, the infant had on their primary caregiver, in this case, the mother.
In an attempt to shed light on this controversial statement, Winnicott later stated, “if you are out to describe a baby, you will find you are describing a baby and someone. A baby cannot exist alone but is essentially part of a relationship” (Winnicott, 1964, p. 88). What this seems to suggest is that Winnicott theorised maternal care and the infant as constituting a single unit seeing as two units “cannot be disentangled" (Winnicottt, 1960, p. 586). Το Winnicott, the mother is the adult in this relationship, on account of her capacity for independence. An infant membership in this relationship is active. He is absolutely dependent on the mother (Winnicott, 1960). Such absolute dependence is not a permanent thing, according to Winnicott. This prompted him to hypothesise that an infant moves towards "relative dependence” following the initial absolute dependence stage (Winnicott, 1962). Advancements across these stages starts even as the infant is unaware of maternal care he is receiving. At this stage, the infant also has no power over his emotional and physical environment. As the infant transitions into the relative dependence phase, he becomes aware of the maternal care that he is receiving from them. Consequently, the infant starts to relate this maternal care to his impulses and needs.
As the infant progresses towards independence, he relies on maternal care's introjections and memories as sources of security. However, the infant is yet to gain control over the environment in which he is part of. However, his newly found trust in his environment is also a source of comfort (Winnicott, 1965). The infant's ability at self-soothing through his mother's introjections is compatible with the child's growing intellectual ability. In the absence of the concurrent development in the infant's intellectual capacity, he would find it hard to make use of the introjection process.
Winnicott's idea of transitional space unfolds the notion of imagination. This informs our understanding of a child's level of creativity, especially in creative play. According to Winnicott, transitional space links the self with the outer and inner reality. It involves an attachment by the child to such possessions as toys and blankets, among others. These are the possessions that the baby can easily access. The ability of a child to identify and make use of a transitional object often acts as a sign that he/she has started to engage the symbolisation process: "The object is a symbol of the baby and the mother (or part of the mother). The use of an object symbolises the union of two now separate things, baby and mother, at the point of time of the initiation of their separateness" (Winnicott, 1971, p. 97).
Child's inner world
Winnicott inferred that the development of the child's inner world can be traced as early as the formative stages of infancy. Winnicott contended that a “good-enough mother" offers an ideal environment that enables the child to undergo maturational development, naturally (Winnicott, 1958). This assertion hinges on the principle that primary parental care, especially one provided by the mother was vital for the healthy development of the new-born baby. He depends entirely on external and internal sensations. For instance, the infant feels cold or discomfort but is still not aware of it. Such experiences, according to Winnicott, make the new-born baby feel very frightened save for when in the arms of their mother, who provides them such-needed comfort and safety (Winnicott, 1953). Therefore, the mother's capacity to "hold” the baby enables him to confront such external and internal phenomena.
However, by “holding”, the infant, Winnicott does not imply physical holding; rather, he is emphasising on the nourishment and comfort that the infant received from its mother. In other words, therefore, a “good-enough mother" according to Winnicott, should also be capable of "holding” the infant's feelings that appears intolerable to him (Rodman, 2004). In this way, the mother's role is to contain or “manage” the emotional experience of an infant up to such a time as when he understands and learns how to manage his own feelings. This early stage is also characterised by emotional merging of the mother and infant (Espasa & Alcorn, 2004). This merging is important because it is an opportunity for the mother to understand the infant's experiences. This will in turn allow the mother to mirror back such experiences to the infant and in this way, enable the infant to understand those experiences himself.
Winnicott observed hesitation anxiety manifested by infants to approach the spatula to manifestation in the early superego phase. Such anxiety might be their way of reacting to disapproval by a parent. Alternatively, it could also be self-generated. In this way, Winnicott's thinking bears resemblance to that of Klein. In this case, he failed to find any evidence that primitive guilt was a source of guilt. Moreover, Winnicott established that infants had a tendency to anticipating a disapproval by their mothers. In this way, Winnicott was in agreement with Klein's idea on infants being “minded”. However, Klein and Winnicott differs on several fronts, such as the death instinct. For Klein, the death instinct acts as a dominant basis of the child's experiences and in particular, the disturbances they endure. According to Klein, the channelling of the death instinct should happen early enough for the survival of the infant. In contrast, Winnicott was opposed to Klein's retention of death instincts as advanced by Freud (Winnicott, 1965). This was based on Winnicott's view of the concepts as being redundant, as opposed to being wrong.
Winnicott's conception of child play is well documented. He suggests that play allows the child to attain the creative and authentic personality. This is the first step towards their self-distinction identity (Winnicott, 1960). Winnicott further contends that play is an intersection of two play areas. These are the therapist's play area and the patient's play area. They both complement each other. In case one of these play areas is not working, the other one must endeavour to comprehend the underlying dynamic. While Winnicott dedicates a lot of time to child play, Klein (1992) is mainly dedicated to guilt, destructive impulses and reparation. For Klein, guilt is due to our vulnerability to pain felt by others. Such pain contributes to 'making reparation'.
Conclusion
From the analysis of the works of Klein and Winnicott, it is evident that human connection plays an essential role in promoting emotional health. The contributions of Klein, Winnicott and other theorists seem to complement one another. Consequently, there is a dire need for therapists and parents to take into account the different psychological and developmental aspects that are deemed essential for the development of a healthy human connection. Such a conclusion acknowledges that clinicians, and parents, by relying on varied backgrounds and techniques may find a common ground as they seek to develop emotional regulation through this relationship. Even as change comes with its new set of challenges, clinicians and mothers may find comfort in the understanding that the promotion of a healthy connection is deemed as being “good enough”.
References
- Anzieu-Premmereur, C. (2017). Using psychoanalytic concepts to inform inter-pretations and direct interventions with a baby in working with infants and parents. Int. Forum Psychoanal., 26, 54-58.
- Beales, Jr., R. W. (1975). In Search of the Historical Child: Miniature Adulthood and Youth in Colonial New England. American Quarterly, 27(4), 379-398
- Beebe, B., & Lachmann, F. M. (2014). The Origins of Attachment: Infant Research and Adult Treatment. New York: Routledge.
- Espasa, F. P. & Alcorn, D. (2004). Parent-infant psychotherapy, the transition to parenthood, and parental narcissism: implications for treatment. J. Child Psychother.,30, 155-171.
- Hughes, J. M. (1989). Reshaping Psychoanalytic Domain. The Work of Melanie Klein, W.R.D. Fairbairn, & D.W. Winnicott. Berkeley: University of California Press.
- Klein, M. (1952). On observing the behaviour of young infants. In The Writings of Melanie Klein, Vol. 3. London: Hogarth, pp. 94-121
- Klein, M. (1992) Love, Guilt and Reparation [1937], in: Love, Guilt and Reparation and Other Works 1921±1945, the Writings of Melanie Klein, Vol. 1 (London, Karnac Books)
- Larcher, V. (2015). Children Are Not Small Adults: Significance of Biological and Cognitive Development in Medical Practice. Handbook of the Philosophy of Medicine, 1-23.
- Levín, A. R. (2014). Early life attachment: mother-baby relationship in Donald Winnicott's theory. Vertex, 25(117), 387-91.
- Rodman, F. R. (2004). Winnicott: His Life and Work. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press.
- Rustin, M. (2006). Infant observation research: what have we learned so far? Infant Observation, 9, 35-52.
- Winnicott., D. W. (1953). Transitional objects and transitional phenomena—a study of the first not-me possession. Int. J. Psychoanal., 34:89-97.
- Winnicott, D. W. (1958). The Capacity to be Alone. The International Journal of Pyschoanalysis, 39, 416-420
- Winnicott., D. W. (1960). The theory of the parent-infant relationship. Int. J. Psychoanal.,41:585-595.
- Winnicott., D. W. (1962). A personal view of the Kleinian contribution. In The Maturational Processes and the Facilitating Environment, ed. M. M. Khan. London: Hog-arth, pp. 171-178.
- Winnicott, D.W. (1964). The child, the family, and the outside world. Harmondsworth, England: Penguin Books.
- Winnicott, D.W. (1965). The maturational processes and the facilitating environment: Studies in the theory of emotional development. New York, NY: International Universities Press Inc.
- Winnicott, D. W. (1971). "The Location of Cultural Experience," in Winnicott, Playing and Reality. London: Routledge. p. 97
- Winnicott, D.W. (2002). Winnicott on the child. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Books Group.
Michael is a qualified Psychotherapist (Registered), based in Gurteen, Ballymahon, Ireland.
With a commitment to mental health, Dr McArdle provides services in English, including Counselling, Counselling (Crisis), Counselling (Trauma), Mindfulness, Psychoanalysis, Psychoeducation, Psychotherapy, Psychotherapy (Analytic), Psychotherapy (CBT), Psychotherapy (Psychoanalytic) and Therapy (Online).
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