Reflections on the Experience of Being a Whole Human: Ogden, Winnicott, and Poetry

Abstract

The author undertook a self-curated independent study that led her to consider the elements of the ontology of being a whole human. Thomas Ogden, D. W. Winnicott, and poetry were integral to the experience. While contemporary psychoanalytic constructs such as object relations, fantasy, enactment, early development, and the interpersonal remain the theoretical bedrock in our work, the mounting politico-cultural fragmentation and social crises of the present moment makes it more imperative than ever that we contemplate and engage with our patients and ourselves as whole humans and all that that wholeness implies. The author identifies seven components—love, authenticity/truth, aliveness, solitude, dialectical influence, loss, and bodily autonomy—as crucial contributors to the creative composite that is being a whole human. The author considers each component with reference to specific poems and to Ogden’s and Winnicott’s writings and lived beings.

Keywords:

• elements of human experience
• interdependence and self-possession
• ontology
• poetry
• Winnicott
• Ogden

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

¹ Krista Tippett is a Peabody Award-winning journalist, New York Times bestselling author, and entrepreneur who created and hosts the podcast “On Being.” She was awarded the National Humanities Medal by President Barack Obama for “thoughtfully delving into the mysteries of human existence.” She holds a Doctorate of Divinity from Yale University.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Lisa Koshkarian

Lisa Koshkarian, PhD, is a psychoanalytic psychologist with graduate school foundations from University of Chicago’s School of Social Service Administration who specializes in working with socio-culturally-economically diverse adolescents and adults in private practice, community mental health, and college counseling center settings. Her teaching and supervision utilize the intersection of the sociocultural world along with contemporary psychoanalytic, relational, feminist, and queer theories, with incorporation of the arts. She is deeply curious about the ontology of becoming a whole human within each person’s contexts and is invested in decolonizing, repairing, and healing damaged systems.