Jung and Winnicott in the Classroom
Jung and Winnicott in the Classroom
Holding, Mirroring, Potential Space, and the Self
This chapter explains the author's approach to teaching Jung. The chapter argues that Winnicott's notion of a “holding space” between mother and infant applies not only to the analytic dyad but also to the atmosphere in a healthy classroom. A “good enough teacher” establishes secure psychological boundaries and principles of mutual respect to enable students to express themselves freely, raise questions, explore curiosities, and process new knowledge in highly efficient ways. Creating this kind of classroom environment is helpful in any discipline, but the chapter argues it is essential for teaching Jung. Experiential methods like dream interpretation, artistic play, and active imagination are the teaching tools properly suited to the kind of psychological processes that Jungian theory addresses. The best way to employ these tools is to create a sufficiently strong holding space in the classroom for students to learn from their own experiments and discoveries.
Keywords: Winnicott, object relations theory, Jung, dream interpretation, artistic play, active imagination
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