‘Hopelessly devoted to you’: An examination of Winnicott’s concept of primary maternal preoccupation in the identity and practice of male group analysts

Abstract

The rationale for this study is to explore whether or not the Winnicottian concept of primary maternal preoccupation fits into the identities and features in what male group analysts reflect on and resonate with upon ‘giving birth to’ and conducting a group. A qualitative, individual case-study approach was employed to attempt to discover and understand how male group analysts make sense of Winnicott’s fundamental concept. Wondering and thinking about how a male group analyst ‘holds’ both the maternal and paternal function in a group is also being thought about to ascertain the impact of these features on clinical practice. Exploring the concept of primary maternal preoccupation lends towards a strong focus on the relationship between mother and baby, mirrored in and seen as a metaphor for the relationship between the group analyst and the group members. Doron argues that in disclosing her depth of feeling towards the changing group membership in the group she was conducting, she identified strongly with the state of primary maternal preoccupation. This study will explore the range of feelings associated with the primary maternal preoccupation male group analysts associate with. Three qualified group analysts with five years’ minimum post-qualification experience, with whom there were no boundary issues, were interviewed in a semi-structured interview format to ascertain and develop this understanding. A phenomenological research method was chosen to analyse the collated data from the three individual interviews. Following completion of the three interviews, the participants’ texts were analysed resulting in five overall themes being developed. Potential wider scopes and application of the question, potential clinical implications of the topic under discussion and the potential for developing a theoretical discussion in group analysis on what might be coined ‘paternal preoccupation’ were illuminated and discussed.

Keywords

primary maternal preoccupation mother–baby holding resonance identity of male group analyst ‘paternal preoccupation’social unconscious

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Abram

(2008a) Donald Woods Winnicott (1896–1971): A brief introduction. The International Journal of Psychoanalysis 89: 1189–1217.

Abram

(2008b) The evolution of Winnicott’s theoretical matrix: A brief outline. In: Abram

(ed.) Donald Winnicott Today (The New Library of Psychoanalysis). London: Routledge, pp. 73–112.

Bloch

(2014) Reciprocity in a securely attached mother-infant dyad. Journal of Infant, Child, and Adolescent Psychotherapy 13: 11–23.

Braun

Clarke

(2006) Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology 3: 77–101.

Doron

(2014) Primary maternal preoccupation in the group analytic group. Group Analysis 47(1): 17–29.

Foguel

(1994) The group experienced as mother: Early psychic structures in analytic groups. Group Analysis 27(3): 265–285.

Foulkes

(1964) Therapeutic Group Analysis. London: Karnac Books.

Giorgi

(2009) The Descriptive Phenomenological Method in Psychology: The Descriptive Phenomenological Method in Psychology. Pittsburgh, PA: Duquesne University Press.

Hollway

(2011) Rereading Winnicott’s ‘primary maternal preoccupation. Feminism & Psychology 22(1): 20–40.

10.

Jacobs

(1995) D W Winnicott (Key Figures in Counselling and Psychotherapy). London: SAGE.

11.

James

(1997) Finding the capacity for holding as a group analyst. Group Analysis 30(4): 259–267.

12.

Mariotti

(2012) Mothering in body and mind. In: Marriotti

(ed.) The Maternal Lineage: Identification, Desire and Transgenerational Issues. London: Routledge.

13.

Nitsun

(1989) Early development: Linking the individual to the group. Group Analysis 22(3): 249–260.

14.

Ogden

(1985) The mother, the infant and the matrix: Interpretations of aspects of the work of Donald Winnicott. In: Abram

(ed.) Donald Winnicott Today (The New Library of Psychoanalysis). London: Routledge, pp. 46–72.

15.

Ogden

(2004) On holding and containing, being and dreaming. The International Journal of Psychoanalysis 85: 1349–1364.

16.

Parker

(2005) Torn in Two: The Experience of Maternal Ambivalence. London: Virago Press.

17.

Reeves

(2012) On the margins: The role of father in Winnicott’s writings. In: Abram

(ed.) Donald Winnicott Today (The New Library of Psychoanalysis). London: Routledge, pp. 358–385.

18.

Vandervoort

(2009) Standing in unstable spaces: The emergence of maternal subjectivity in First times mothers. PhD Dissertation for in Clinical Psychology, San Francisco Institute of Integral Studies, Proquest Learning LLC, San Francisco, CA.

19.

Winnicott

(1956) Primary Maternal Preoccupation. In: Winnicott

(ed.) The Maturational Processes and the Facilitating Environment. New York: International Universities Press, pp. 300–305.

20.

Winnicott

(1958) The capacity to be alone. In: Winnicott

(ed.) The Maturational Processes and the Facilitating Environment. New York: International Universities Press, pp. 29–36.

21.

Winnicott

(1960) The theory of the parent–infant relationship. In: Winnicott

(ed.) The Maturational Processes and the Facilitating Environment. New York: International Universities Press, pp. 37–55.

22.

Winnicott

(1964) The Child, the Family, and the Outside World. London; Harmondsworth: Penguin Books.

23.

Yogev

(2012) The capacity to be with. Group Analysis 45(3): 339–357.

24.

Zackson

(2012) The Impact of Primary Maternal Preoccupation on Therapists’ Ability to Work with Patients. Ann Arbor, MI: Proquest LLC.

25.

Zinkin

(1989) The group as container and contained. Group Analysis 22(3): 227–234.