When the Mirror is Warped: Applying Transitional Space in a Cultural Context

As a cultural theory, Object Relations and the development of transitional space as an opportunity to build self-stability through creative play has tremendous potential. There is much to gain by increasing awareness of the potential and experimenting along those lines. Trial and error in a safe container, what Winnicott referred to as reality testing, engenders creative discovery and development. In fact, it is relevant to note that by undertaking consideration of this very question in an exploratory paper allows me to begin to extend into that realm of transitional space, permitting me as the writer and researcher to experiment and “play” with how the constructs of my own inner reality correspond to that outer (and sometimes terrifying) reality of the culture around me and how I perceive it. Additionally, I propose that instead of attempting to create the transitional space within our culture through individual talk therapy or group work, by tapping two powerful arenas that already exist, imagery and nature, we may be able to access a well of creativity and healing potential that is massively underutilized in our contemporary culture today.