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The Squiggle Foundation invited Dr Dodi Goldman of New York to give the 2002 Madeleine Davis Memorial lecture on the topic of Donald Winnicott's treatment of Masud Khan following an article by the economist Wynne Godley about his memories of his own analysis with Khan. The Godley piece appeared in the London Review of Books (22 February 2001) and was then taken up in The Times. The correspondence was of two types. The first recognized the seriousness of the charges and was concerned to inform the public about current regulatory bodies and enforcement procedures designed to protect against such abuses. The bulk of the rest of the correspondence saw Godley's piece as further confirmation of the prevalence of unscrupulous therapists and fuel for the imminent demise of talking cures.
The paper reproduced here had been given in an earlier version in the United States and the invitation to Dr Goldman was envisaged as a step towards reassessing the mistakes and failures of both Winnicott and Khan and looking at the implications for their contemporary legacy. Since The Squiggle Foundation has been running courses, public lectures and conferences on Winnicott and the distinctiveness of his approach for nearly 20 years, the directorate and the trustees felt we should offer a public forum to reflect upon a painful episode from our own history. Though Winnicott himself was not the primary focus of the Godley piece, the specific references to him provided cause for concern, and highlighted the relationship between him and Khan.
In writing his account of his treatment by and relationship with Masud Khan, inside and outside the consulting room, Godley provided practitioners with very difficult information. It seemed a priority to use this information, along with that of others who have voiced their concerns and