Every Other Monday, September 8, 2025 - December 15, 2025 | 7:00 - 8:30PM (ET) | Fully Online Workshop
Description:
D.W. Winnicott is enormously popular in psychoanalysis today, partly because of his charming, charismatic personality which shines through in his writing style. When one digs more deeply into his writing, however, one learns that Winnicott was not just a delightful character. He thought deeply about children, development, families, society, and ethics. His ideas regarding transitional objects and true/false selves are iconic, and his thinking is extremely useful in clinical psychology, philosophy, sociology, and ethics. In this course we will explore D.W. Winnicott's most popular ideas, which include transitional objects, true/false selves, hatred and regression in psychotherapy, and the use of an object.
Learning Objectives:
At the conclusion of this workshop, attendees will be able to:
- Session 1 (9/8) - The Ruthless, Unintegrated Infant
- Analyze Winnicott's concept of the "unintegrated" infant including its development significance.
- Explain the implications of Winnicott's concept of "ruthlessness" in the infant's early interactions and it's role in mature development.
- Session 2 (9/22) - Acknowledging and Tolerating Hate
- Describe "hatred," as conceptualized by Winnicott and discuss its emergence in therapeutic relationships.
- Discuss the therapeutic neccessity of acknowledging and containing the patient's hate.
- Session 3 (10/6) - Regression
- Assess the phenomenon of regression within the therapeutic context and explain its potential role in the formation of the true self.
- Demonstrate how the principles of facilitating therapeutic regression can be an important ingredient in effective therapy.
- Session 4 (10/20) - True and False Selves
- Explain Winnicott's distinct definitions of the true self and false self, and identify the development origins of each.
- Demonstrate how the principles of facilitating therapeutic regression can be an important ingredient in effective therapy.
- Session 5 (11/3) - Inside Out - Transitional Objects
- Explain the definition, origin and nature of the transitional object within Winnicott's theory, and identify its role in early development.
- Describe the developmental trajectory and eventual fate of transitional object as individual's mature.
- Session 6 (11/17) - From Relating to Using
- Compare Winnicott's concepts of "using" versus "relating to" an object, providing illustrative examples of both similarities and differences.
- Identify the therapeutic process through which patients transition from "relating to" to "using" their therapist and explain the significance of this shift for therapeutic progress.
- Session 7 (12/1) - Adolescence: Confrontation and Murder
- Discuss the critical role of confrontation in adolescent identity formation according to Winnicott's framework.
- Explain Winnicott's paradox of how an object can be destroyed and yet survive in the context of adolescent development and therapeutic relationships.
- Session 8 (12/15) - Civilization, Delinquency, and Winnicott's Ethics
- Identify delinquency from a Winnicottian perspective, and describe it's psychological underpinnings.
- Describe the origins of delinquency and evaluate the complex role of delinquents within a democratic society, drawing on Winnicott's ethical considerations.
Timeline and Requirements:
The course will take place every other Monday, from September 18th - December 12, 2025. This workshop is presenter-led and is a fully online experience. This will be conducted synchronously online via Zoom from 7:00-8:30pm (ET).
CE Pending:
Application for CEs is being submitted for LMHC, APA, and LI/LCSW. We will update this section as soon as we hear back from the credentialing bodies. Once approved, this course will offer 12CEs.
Participants must attend the lecture in full and complete the post event survey to be eligible to receive CEs.
This lecture does not offer CEs for other clinicians not listed above.
Fees & Policies:
Payment is due by credit card at registration. Refunds will be granted only up until registration closes at 5pm on September 8th. No refunds will be granted for errors on the participant's part (such as incorrect name/email upon registration, login failure, scheduling conflicts, etc.).
We strive to host inclusive, accessible events that enable all individuals to engage fully. If you need to request an accommodation or ask a question about accessibility, please contact wcas.cece@bc.edu.
Additional offerings from the Woods College Office of Continuing Education and Community Engagement can be found on our website.
