Winnicott Lectures at AAIMHI Conferences

Donald Woods Winnicott (1896 -1971) was a British Paediatrician, Psychoanalyst and Psychiatrist. D.W.Winnicott made a significant contribution to the field of Infant Mental Health, highlighting the importance of early relationships for long term social and emotional development. He wrote that "a baby cannot exist alone but is essentially part of a relationship".1 D.W.Winnicott introduced the idea that mothers did not need to be perfect but rather "good enough".

D.W. Winnicott presented a series of broadcasts on BBC radio   Listen to D.W.Winnicott

Winnicott Lecture - AAIMHI honours Winnicott's contribution to Infant Mental Health by inviting a speaker to present a lecture at the national AAIMHI conference focusing on Winnicott's ideas and how they influence the way we currently work with infants, young children and their families.

Past Winnicott Lectures:

2007 Winnicott Lecture was presented by Beulah Warren titled "A Brief History of the Australian Association of Infant Mental Health Inc. (AAIMHI)" and published in the AAIMHI 2007 Newsletter (20, 4, 2007). Read 2007 Lecture

2015 Winnicott Lecture was presented by Sarah Mares titled "Such a thing as a baby: re-reading Winnicott in a changing multicultural and technological world" and published in the AAIMHI 2016 Newsletter (29, 2, 2016). Read 2015 Lecture

1Winnicott D. W., 1964. The Child, the Family and the Outside World, Harmondsworth, Middlesex.