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During his lifetime Winnicott did more than any other single person in this country to further interest in child care. His influence derived not only from personal qualities, but also from combining the intensity of psychoanalysis with the extensity of paediatric practice. In this volume he gives a vignette of day-to-day work; it can be read almost like a novel or a series of essays, and this is perhaps the best way to come under the spell that Winnicott casts; it takes some time to wear off and then one begins to look for a critical point of departure.
All the children reached into significant roots of their anxiety. On a first reading this made me irritated, for it is not possible to do so every time unless each case is ruthlessly selected. Winnicott implies that this was so by saying that he relies on a good enough environmental provision; criticism is further disarmed by the title which excludes failures and there are in fact exceptions: the last case ended with communicating the poor prognosis to a boy and his mother (who knew anyway, but saying it was worth while); another delinquent continued to steal, is seen again once without follow up so what happened afterwards is not known; a stammer is improved but not cured and so on. Yet in each case something therapeutic happened and one begins to long for a case in which there is discussion of resistances that were too strong to overcome; why not have considered in detail a case in which there had been unwilling referral? It would have made the good results more authentic. I might add, in parenthesis, that the treatments have characteristics of antique Greek therapeutics which focused especial attention on dreams and had no failures! As it stands the almost unqualified account of success may generate anger, idealization and the other characteristics of envious resentment which make it difficult for some, students especially whom Winnicott wished to interest, by provoking destructive criticism either explici