Clare Winnicott ('' née'' Clare Nimmo Britton, known as "Elsie"; 30 September 1906 – 17 April 1984) OBE was an English social worker, civil servant, psychoanalyst and teacher. She played a pivotal role in the passing of The Children's Act of 1948. Alongside her husband, D. W. Winnicott, Clare would go on to become a prolific writer and prominent social worker and children's advocate in 20th century England.

Early life

Born in the northern seaside town of

Scarborough, Yorkshire Scarborough () is a seaside town in the Borough of Scarborough in North Yorkshire, England. Scarborough is located on the North Sea coastline. Historically in the North Riding of Yorkshire, the town lies between 10 and 230 feet (3–70 m) above ...

, Clare was the eldest of four children. Her father, James Nimmo Britton, a Scot who had migrated south, was a gifted Baptist cleric whose oratory skills led to considerable growth in attendance at the numerous churches to which he had been assigned. Her mother was Elsie Clare Slater. James Britton also founded the Avenue Baptist church in

Southend-on-Sea Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...

where the Britton family was very socially involved. In 1949, Clare's mother was elected the first woman deacon of the Avenue Baptist Church. Clare's skills as a talented communicator and compassionate guardian of those in need can be drawn back to the example set by her mother and father throughout her life as young adult. As a teenager Clare was a leader in her Sunday school, and actively participated in the Christian youth organization, the

Girls' Brigade The Girls' Brigade is an international, interdenominational Christian youth organisation. It was founded in 1893 in Dublin, Ireland. The modern organization was formed as the result of the amalgamation of three like-minded and similarly structu ...

. Throughout the

1926 General Strike The 1926 general strike in the United Kingdom was a general strike that lasted nine days, from 4 to 12 May 1926. It was called by the General Council of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in an unsuccessful attempt to force the British governme ...

and the Great Depression, the church worked to support the men and women of

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

. The church hosted dinners for women who could not afford food and helped unemployed men find work, all organized by Clare's father. Clare's father retired in 1935, and died in 1945. Clare's family moved frequently during her childhood, first to

Clapham Clapham () is a suburb in south west London, England, lying mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, but with some areas (most notably Clapham Common) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. History Early history ...

, South London in 1912 during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The war had a profound impact on the Britton family as widespread rationing took a heavy toll on the family's standard of living and culminated in the loss of Clare's uncle during the fighting on the Western Front with the British Expeditionary Force. At the conclusion of the war, Clare's family moved to

Southend-on-Sea, Essex Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...

where she completed high school in 1925.

Early career and LSE training

Clare went on to attend

Selly Oak College The Queen's Foundation for Ecumenical Theological Education (also called the Queen's Foundation, Birmingham and formerly the Queen's College, Birmingham) is an ecumenical theological college which, with the West Midlands Ministerial Training Cou ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

, a Baptist affiliated school, and earned her qualification as a teacher from 1929 to 1930. After graduating she went to

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

where she worked for the

Young Women's Christian Association The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...

from 1931 to 1937. After taking a one year social science course at the London School of Economics (LSE) from 1937 to 1938, she worked in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales with the Commissioners for Special Areas to assist unemployed juveniles in finding work. While the region continued to suffer the economic hardships of the Great Depression, she instituted the “Boot and Shoe Fund” in order to provide children's shoes for affected families.

World War II and evacuees

In 1940, during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, she returned to the LSE to train for a career in social work. She enrolled in the thirteen-month mental health course, Britain's top programme for psychiatric social work. The course included psychoanalytic theory under educational psychologist and psychoanalyst Susan Isaacs, a pupil of

John Carl Flugel John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

, who published studies on the intellectual and social development of children and promoted the

Nursery school A preschool, also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, or play school or creche, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin compulsory education at primary schoo ...

movement. Clare also worked under the child psychiatrist

Mildred Creak Eleanor Mildred Creak (1 August 1898 – 25 August 1993) was an English child psychiatrist known for her work on autism and organic mental disorders. She began her career at Maudsley Hospital and later headed the psychiatric department at Grea ...

, who is known for the development of diagnostic criteria for autism. While on the course Clare was recognized as a gifted student, described by one classmate, Marjorie Jones, as “academically brilliant”. The London School of Economics also suffered as a result of the war, and the programme had to be suspended for a year as the school relocated to

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

. The school's departments were divided and spread across the campus leaving the students in the social work program isolated. Not only did the war affect the school Clare attended, but the impacts of

the Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

would also find their way to Clare personally and leave a lasting impression on her as a young woman. During the German

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

's bombing of

, Clare's maternal grandparents fled Southend-on-Sea after their house was damaged by bomb blasts. The early years of the

proved intensely destructive in her life as, by 1941, her maternal grandmother had died and her younger brother had narrowly evaded capture by German troops during the

Battle of Crete The Battle of Crete (german: Luftlandeschlacht um Kreta, el, Μάχη της Κρήτης), codenamed Operation Mercury (german: Unternehmen Merkur), was a major Axis airborne and amphibious operation during World War II to capture the island ...

. Unlike her classmates Clare did not pursue a career in a mental health clinic or hospital setting on completing the LSE course. Having witnessed firsthand how the war forced countless English families to evacuate their homes, fathers and brothers sent away to war, while mothers joined the workforce on the

Home front Home front is an English language term with analogues in other languages. It is commonly used to describe the full participation of the British public in World War I who suffered Zeppelin raids and endured food rations as part of what came t ...

, and a great number of children were left separated from their families, she believed that she could make more of an impact with her training by aiding the evacuations with the

National Association for Mental Health Mind is a mental health charity in England and Wales. Founded in 1946 as the National Association for Mental Health (NAMH), it celebrated its 70th anniversary in 2016. Mind offers information and advice to people with mental health problems an ...

. She then moved to the Midlands to take a position with the regional health authority. After a few months, she was ordered to assist with the Oxfordshire evacuation scheme. This involved organising care for over eighty children affected by the evacuation. In Oxfordshire she met

Donald Winnicott Donald Woods Winnicott (7 April 1896 – 25 January 1971) was an English paediatrician and psychoanalyst who was especially influential in the field of object relations theory and developmental psychology. He was a leading member of the Briti ...

, a medical supervisor, who visited every Friday to check up on the evacuation scheme in the area. Clare explained her ideas about children channeled into the evacuation system and Dr. Winnicott, a paediatrician, shared this vision.

Work with Donald Winnicott

Donald and Clare collaborated on the article, “The Problem of Homeless Children.” The article describes the responsibilities of a social worker in the evacuation scheme as well as impacts of the war on child behavior. Many colleagues of Clare and Donald expressed that their ability to collaborate effectively was unparalleled. In 1945, the death of a child in the English foster care system opened a widespread investigation in which Clare participated as a member of the committee investigating the incident alongside Winnicott, whom she had worked with previously on evacuation. The committee, The Report of the Care of Children Committee, discovered over 100,000 children in need of foster care or adoption placement in England and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. The committee's findings sent shockwaves across Britain and ultimately led to the passing of ''The Children's Act of 1948'', an Act of Parliament which established a comprehensive childcare service in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. The committee also continued to train social workers and staff on the changing childcare system. The London School of Economics collaborated with the committee to establish Britain's first programme for the education of social workers in the new children's departments. Clare, having gained the respect of the academic and social work communities, was appointed the first “Lecturer in Charge” of the new course. The programme included classes in

Child development Child development involves the Human development (biology), biological, developmental psychology, psychological and emotional changes that occur in human beings between birth and the conclusion of adolescence. Childhood is divided into 3 stages o ...

, legal issues, and

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation an ...

. In her courses Clare avoided abstractions such as psychoanalytic theory and focused on her students’ work in childcare. Donald Winnicott also taught on this programme and, having worked extensively together both in teaching and on the committee, Clare and Donald Winnicott were married on 28 December 1951.

Work with disrupted children

Along with her work on the evacuation scheme, Winnicott also worked with other children including juvenile delinquents, mentally disabled children, and children in foster care. She also took time to work with special mental health cases including enuretics and through therapeutic regression. With each intervention, she realized that environmental changes could have a therapeutic effect. As she gained awareness of the inner world of children, she began to put together her own theories in which she later discussed the importance of “transitional objects.” In her 1945 paper, “Children Who Cannot Play” she discussed the loss or removal of "loved" or attachment items such as blankets or specific toys and how this can impact a child's emotions and behaviour. Even though she had at that stage minimal familiarity with psychoanalytic theory, she elaborated an Object Relations Theory in her paper and drew parallels with her observations. She also mentioned the importance of play while a child is developing. She described play as a child beginning to claim autonomy over her/his life by creating controllable scenarios in their fantasy world.

Post-war

After the war, she continued to work with children on the evacuation scheme, in foster care, and adoption. This involved work with the

Civil Resettlement Units Civil Resettlement Units, or CRUs, was a scheme created during the Second World War by Royal Army Medical Corps psychiatrists to help British Army servicemen who had been prisoners of war (POWs) to return to civilian life, and to help their fami ...

of the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

Kingston-on-Thames Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable as ...

. She helped assist British Army personnel who had been prisoners of war who had endured psychological trauma. She noted similarities between the men returning home and the children she had worked with previously and drew parallels between the soldiers and deprived children. During this time, her work began to attract public attention. In 1946, she began teaching a course alongside Leslie Bell at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

entitled, “The Child in the Family and the Community.” She focused on child development, more specifically child attachment and the importance of play within a child's social group. In 1946, she joined the education department of the

National Association of Mental Health Mind is a mental health charity in England and Wales. Founded in 1946 as the National Association for Mental Health (NAMH), it celebrated its 70th anniversary in 2016. Mind offers information and advice to people with mental health problems an ...

to offer courses for staff and childcare workers.

Teaching at LSE

Clare Winnicott's was appointed to lead the programme on a new social work programme at the London School of Economics (LSE) in 1947. She became well known across the United Kingdom, and this led to invitations to lecture at other universities. One of her students in that period was Olive Stevenson who would become highly influential as a Social Policy academic and administrator. In 1954, she presented her work at a

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

seminar on social work. She wrote a paper, “Casework Techniques in the Child Care Services,” after her address at the 1954 United Nations Seminar on European Social Services. Her paper was well received and later published in academic journals in Britain and in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. New trends led to the closure of the childcare course at the LSE in 1958. It coincided with a forced leave of absence due to meningitis.

Psychoanalytic training

In 1949, she embarked on a training in

psychoanalysis PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: + . is a set of theories and therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a body of knowledge. In what might b ...

with W. Clifford M. Scott, an analysand of

Melanie Klein Melanie Klein (née Reizes; 30 March 1882 – 22 September 1960) was an Austrian-British author and psychoanalyst known for her work in child analysis. She was the primary figure in the development of object relations theory. Klein suggested t ...

. She wanted to learn Kleinian analysis but was disappointed when Scott did not work in the expected manner. Scott returned to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and she sought to work with Klein herself. After finally working with Klein, she was again disappointed to find Klein's theories focused almost entirely on negative aspects of child health. She continued her own training with the

British Psychoanalytical Society The British Psychoanalytical Society was founded by the British neurologist Ernest Jones as the London Psychoanalytical Society on 30 October 1913. It is one of two organizations in Britain training psychoanalysts, the other being the British ...

. With her husband she continued to teach at the LSE until 1964. Her 1959 paper, “The Development of Insight,” referred among others, to

Anna Freud Anna Freud (3 December 1895 – 9 October 1982) was a British psychoanalyst of Austrian-Jewish descent. She was born in Vienna, the sixth and youngest child of Sigmund Freud and Martha Bernays. She followed the path of her father and contribut ...

. The implied criticism of Kleinian theory eventually led to a rift between Clare Winnicott and Mrs Klein.

Civil service

In 1960, having completed her clinical training, she applied for a government post. In 1963

Beti Jones Beti Jones (1919-2006) was a Scottish social worker. She was awarded Commander of the British Empire (CBE), and transformed the Scottish legal system pertaining to children. She was the first social work officer in Scotland and she established th ...

, president of the childcare social work association, backed her for a leading post at the Home Office which she gained in 1964 and led to her re-organising social work training. The 1968 Seebohm Report led to the amalgamation of government social work tasks. Partly as a result, Winnicott lost her post, but she was awarded the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

DW Winnicott dies

Following her husband's death in 1971, she lost her job at the Home Office and returned to psychoanalysis and briefly to the LSE as head of the social work department. The year of her husband's death was also the year she was awarded the

, which he was unable to witness. For about ten years she taught and supervised in the psychoanalytic section of the British Association of Psychotherapists (BAP). She ran a small analytic practice and offered clinical supervision to colleagues until illness and death overtook her on April 15, 1984.

Legacy

Clare Winnicott's contributions to childcare and social work have had a profound impact on social work in their day, through her contributions to the Curtis Committee, and at the Home Office. However, her views based on field research and psychoanalytic theory have been either demoted to “common sense” or are presently dismissed. Many of her contributions have been overshadowed by her husband Donald's celebrity even as the popularity of psychoanalysis itself declines in the sphere of public policy, with the signal exception that children's interests are now considered paramount in law, in contrast to having been considered in the past as the "property" of their parents, especially the father. She played an integral role in the evolution of social work in Britain and is remembered for her research and academic publications which today are little more than of historical interest in a digital age. ''The Clare Winnicott Prize'', named in her honour, was instituted in 1986 by "GAPS" (Group for the Advancement of Psychodynamics and Psychotherapy in Social Work, inspired by Clare Winnicott and founded in 1971 by Sally Hornby) for an innovative essay on a social work theme by a previously unpublished social work practitioner or student. The award includes publication of the piece in ''The Journal of Social Work Practice''.

Selected writings

* C. Britton and D. W. Winnicott, "The problem of homeless children". ''The New Era in Home and School'' 25, 1944, 155-161 * C. Britton, 'Children who cannot play' (London 1945) * C. Britton, 'Remarks' in "The Oxfordshire Hostels Scheme". ''Report of Child Guidance Inter Clinic Conference''. 1946, 29-35, 42-43 * C. Britton, "Residential management as treatment for difficult children". ''

Human Relations The concept of interpersonal relationship involves social associations, connections, or affiliations between two or more people. Interpersonal relationships vary in their degree of intimacy or self-disclosure, but also in their duration, in t ...

'' 1 (1), 1947, 2-12 * C. Britton, "Child care" in C. Morris (ed.): ''Social Work in Great Britain''. London 1950 * C. Winnicott, "Casework techniques in the child care services". '' Social Casework'', 36 (1), 1955, 3-13 * C. Winnicott, ''Child Care and Social Work: A Collection of Papers Written between 1954 and 1963''. Hertfordshire: 1964 * C. Winnicott "Communicating with children (I)". ''Child Care Quarterly Review'' 18 (3), 1964, 85-93 * C. Winnicott "Communicating with children (II)". ''Social Work Today'' 8 (26), 1977, 7-11 * C. Winnicott, 'Fear of Breakdown: A Clinical Example'. ''

International journal of psychoanalysis ''The International Journal of Psychoanalysis'' is an academic journal in the field of psychoanalysis. The idea of the journal was proposed by Ernest Jones in a letter to Sigmund Freud dated 7 December 1918. The journal itself was established in ...

''. 61 (1980). 351-357 * D. W. Winnicott. "A reflection" in S. Grolnick and L. Barkin (eds.) ''Between Fantasy and Reality. Transitional Objects and Phenomena''. New York: 1978, 15-33

Bibliography

Works about Clare Britton Winnicott: * * Kanter, Joel , (ed.) ''Face to Face with Children. The Life and Work of Clare Winnicott''. London, New York: Routledge 2004.

References

External links

Clare Winnicott

{{DEFAULTSORT:Winnicott, Clare 1906 births 1984 deaths People from Scarborough, North Yorkshire English social workers Social work scholars British psychoanalysts English psychotherapists British psychotherapists Analysands of Melanie Klein Deaths from skin cancer British civil servants Women civil servants Alumni of the University of London Academics of the London School of Economics British women writers British sociologists British women academics Officers of the Order of the British Empire