Correspondence: Franco Borgogno, Ph.D., Psicologia Clinica, Via Po 14, Torino 10123, Italy. e-mail: borgogno@psych.unito.it

¹Ph.D., Full Professor of Clinical Psychology. Director of Post-Graduate School in Clinical Psychology. Coordinator of Ph.D. Program in Clinical and the Interpersonal Relationships Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Turin; Training and Supervising Psycho-Analyst, IPA, Società Psicoanalitica Italiana.

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to present the close link between Ferenczi's and Winnicott's theoretical, clinical and therapeutic thought, indicating how this link has become something of a "missing link" in the history of psychoanalytic ideas, an implication which we retain, in part, to this day. In the first part entitled "Who's speaking to whom?", I aim to explore the contents of the most essential parts of their messages, stressing the similarities and differences between them, and citing the most important authors whom they address (Freud for Ferenczi, Klein for Winnicott). In the second part, I aim to tackle the general direction underlying both their work and their lives, concentrating specifically on "the maternal", and examining the repercussions of this aspect on psychoanalytic technique and practice. In the third part, as a kind of "Parting", I will present further brief conclusions on the relevance and significance of their thoughts in modern day psychoanalysis, defining Ferenczi and Winnicott as "founders of future discursiveness".