Winnicott and religion

Stephen Parker, Professor of Psychology and himself a Wesleyan Methodist, sets out in this book to illustrate the pervasive influence of this particular religious doctrine on Winnicott’s clinical thinking throughout his life, as well as tracing the development of Winnicott’s religious belief under the influence of his growing psychoanalytic insights. Because of the parallels between the religious background of author and subject, the book at times reads like an intense and very specific personal ‘soul searching’ for points of connection and integration between psychoanalytic theory and Wesleyan Methodism – a nonconformist branch of Christianity that emphasises the importance of ethical action springing from a love of humanity. Whilst this narrow and idiosyncratic focus in itself might be of somewhat limited interest or relevance to the general reader, I found this book interesting for the wider questions it raises and explores around the compatibility between psychoanalytic theory and religious belief. Parker contrasts what he sees as Winnicott’s ‘implicitly theological’ stance with Freud’s categorical rejection of religious belief as a pathological defence.

Parker’s highly detailed examination of Winnicott’s family history and background in relation to the development of his clinical thinking brings the clinician to life as a complex and possibly quite conflicted man with a strong capacity for preserving his personal integrity and autonomy of thought, even in the face of public pressure and criticism. Refreshingly, Parker’s book does not shy away from taking a constructively critical stance towards some more problematic aspects of Winnicott’s professional attitude and behaviour – especially his lack of rigour and clarity at times in elaborating his theories and in acknowledging his sources, which possibly points to a certain degree of unresolved narcissism. This issue is hinted at in Chapter 9, which, somewhat alarmingly, discusses Winnicott’s identification as a c