Considerations about Ferenczi’s modifications on the psychoanalytic technique and Winnicott’s later developments

Abstract

Due to the high incidence of patients who do not adapt to the standard method of Psychoanalysis, this paper investigates ways of adapting the listening of the analyst, with the notion of empathy proposed by Ferenczi as a fundamental clinical tool for therapeutic management. The objective of this paper is to offer a keystone for the technique in question. To this end, the paper approaches the Ferenczian conceptualization on the subject to the idea of primary maternal preoccupation in Winnicott. Such a choice is justified, since the ideas formulated by the English author function as continuations of the course inaugurated by Ferenczi. To clarify this argument, the paper addresses Winnicott and his understanding of mothering as a natural enabler of regression, which led me to conclude that the “feeling with” empathy in this framework operates as an adaptation to the primary needs of the traumatized patient.