26

Without appropriate caring, one’s center of gravity stays within its shell, exposed to winds instead of finding shelter in the kernel. In this aspect, D.W. Winnicott’s writings remain essential, especially at a time when non-neurotic pathologies are the main focus of attention. The author analyzes in detail an original, though enigmatic, topical conception of the mental apparatus, which is discussed in relation to Freud and contemporary authors. This is the starting point of the author’s recollection of the beginning of a psychotherapeutic treatment with a young boy.