rtant to keep this in mind when working therapeutically with children; giving consideration to all that is left unsaid. The infant taught that it’s not appropriate to share thoughts and feelings may feel the same way in therapy. By nurturing the child’s true self and what makes them unique we can offer them a safe space to express themselves, which maybe expressed through play.

Each domain of self; emergent, core, intersubjective and verbal is continued throughout life and keeping each stage in mind when working therapeutically with a child may help them find a “narrative point of origin” (Stern, 1985: 262). By this I mean that there is likely to be a link between what the client experiences in the present and the way they must have felt as an infant. We can theorise what sense of self has been affected and needs addressing. For instance an adolescent feeling like they are not understood may have its routes in “intersubjective relatedness” (1985: 27). Ultimately each phase is a “sensitive period” (1985: 273) for the infant and its crucial to remain attuned to their impact in life (1985: 256 – 264).

DONALD WINNICOTT

Donald Winnicott started his career as a paediatrician but in the Second World War he got involved in setting up homes for traumatised children whose foster placements had broken down. This led to him becoming more interested in psychotherapy and he was introduced to Melanie Klein who was making great waves of her own analysing children. As a child psychoanalyst, Winnicott was a passionate believer in play; indeed this is where his theories come alive, “It is play that is the universal, and that belongs to health” (1971: 41), and through these observations one begins to understanding the type of relationship the child has with their parents. For any psychotherapist, this is key, but in order to understand why a child may find it difficult to play, it is necessary to go back to their earliest experiences.

‘’There is no such thing as a baby” (1958, p.99) said Winnicott, meaning that where there’s a baby there is always a maternal adult. And so begins the journey of what Winnicott calls the “good enoug