Document: D.W. Winnicott, Review of My Life. Memories, Dreams, and Reflections by C.G. Jung

In 1964, Winnicott, reacting to the publication of Jung’s memoirs in English, reasoned that Jung had been the victim of a psychotic collapse at the age of three, following his mother’s depression, which caused the separation of the parental couple. Winnicott read from the memoirs an image of infantile schizophrenia, but he was also impressed by the strength of character that enabled Jung to heal himself. For Winnicott, Jung’s life demonstrated that a psychotic disorder may cause many problems, but it can also incite the sufferer to exceptional accomplishments.