On Potential Space

Perhaps the most important and at the same time most elusive of the ideas introduced by Donald Winnicott is the concept of potential space. Potential space is the general term Winnicott used to refer to an intermediate area of experiencing that lies between fantasy and reality. Specific forms of potential space include the play space, the area of the transitional object and phenomena, the analytic space, the area of cultural experience, and the area of creativity. The concept of potential space remains enigmatic in part because it has been so difficult to extricate the meaning of the concept from the elegant system of images and metaphors in which it is couched. The present paper is an attempt to clarify the concept of potential space and to explore the implications that this aspect of Winnicott’s work holds for a psychoanalytic theory of the normal and pathological development of the capacity for symbolization and subjectivity.