Winnicott’s theory

Contemporary psychoanalysis
 An alternative approach is offered by Greenberg and
Mitchell (1983), who argue that psychoanalytic theory can
be reduced essentially to two major schools of thought-
one based on drive/structure theory and the other based
on relational/structure theory.
 The drive/structure model is best illustrated by the work of
Sigmund Freud (1953-1974) and Anna Freud (1964-1981)
and their disciples (Arlow & Brenner, 1964; Brenner, 1973;
Fenichel, and the relational/structure model by the work of
Melanie Klein (1964; 1975), W.R.D. Fairbairn , D.W.
Winnicott (1965; 1971; 1975) and Harry Guntrip (1961;
1969; 1971). Although some theorists [e.g., Heinz Kohut
(1971; 1975; 1984) and Otto Kemberg (1975; 1976; 1980)]
have attempted to mix the two models, the models
themselves are based on fundamentally different
conceptions of human nature, development and
pathology.
 Specifically, the drive/structure theories
emphasize the primacy of the drives
(instincts), the role of libido and aggression,
intrapsychic conflict, and the central
importance of the Oedipal period.
 Relational/structure theories, on the other
hand, emphasize the importance of pre-
Oedipal development, separation issues, self-
cohesiveness, and the very early
relationships between children and their
primary caretakers.
Overview of object relations
theory
 Emphasizes on interpersonal relations.
 Primarily in the family - especially between
mother and child
 Object :an object is that to which a subject
relates
 Objects are usually a persons , parts of
persons , toys or symbols of one of these
 It is believed that infants form mental
representations of themselves in relation to
others and that these internal images
significantly influence interpersonal relationships
later in life.
 Interpersonal relations- residues of past
relationships can affect a person in the later life .
 Object relation theorists are having interest in
inner images of the self and other and how they
manifest themselves in interpersonal situations
 The term “object relations” refers to the
dynamic internalized relationships
between the self and significant others
(objects). An object relation involves
mental representations of:
 The object as perceived by the self
 The self in relation to the object
 The relationship between self and
object
 For example, an infant might think:
 "My mother is good because she feeds me
when I am hungry" (representation of the
object).
 "The fact that she takes care of me must
mean that I am good" (representation of
the self in relation to the object).
 "I love my mother" (representation of the
relationship).
Key concepts
 Representation :the way person possesses
an object /mental representation of an object
 External object :is an actual person ,place or
a thing that a person has invested with
emotional energy
 Internal object :is one person ‘s
representation of another ,such as reflection
of the child’s way of relating to the mother
(memory, idea or fantasy about a person or
place )
 Early development
 According to Winnicott, a newborn child exists
in a stream of unintegrated, comfortably
unconnected moments. This existence is
pleasant and not terrifying for the child.
 According to Winnicott these early experiences
are crucial to a proper development of
personhood.
 The person responsible, according to
Winnicott, for providing this framework is the
mother, and if this environment is not provided
by her, the deficiencies will manifest
themselves later in the child’s life.
 The infant progressively develops from an
unintegrated drift into being able to distinctly
identify objects in his/her surroundings.
Holding Environment
 For the consolidation of a healthy self of an infant it is
crucial that the mother is there whenever needed. But
even more important consequences arise when she
recedes when she is not needed.
 Holding environment is a psychical and physical space
within which the infant is protected without knowing he is
protected. When a baby is born, the mother is extremely
occupied with the infant.
 Under optimal circumstances the mother moves away from
this state of maternal preoccupation and therefore
provides an environment in which the infant is free to move
and learn through experience.
 For the infant it means that it begins to realize that there is
an outside world (objective reality) which is not always
there to fulfil his desires. He has never observed feelings
of dependency before, as his mother was always there for
him. And there are also other people with their desires and
agendas which can be in contradiction with his desires .
 By meeting the child’s need, the mother
protects him from negative movements in the
outside world. He just reacts on impulses,
which are usually answered.
 But what happens if the mother does not
provide the holding environment in which the
child can grow and become a healthy self, or
provides too much stimulation, for example to
painful levels?
 The child psychological development ceases
and experiences impingement.
 He could feel ignored, because his desires
are not answered and could experience
problems in his own subjectivity. The child
can even become traumatized.
Subjective Omnipotence
 During this progress, the child experiences a
phase Winnicott referred to as subjective
omnipotence. This experience takes place at
the time when the mother-child relationship is
entirely symbiotic, and the child experiences
everything subjectively. At this point the baby
feels as if it is merged with the mother.
 The baby considers his or herself all-powerful
and the center of existence. This is because,
to the baby, whatever he or she wishes will
occur. For example, when the child is
hungry, he or she cries and the mother
responds; from the baby's perception, the
breast then appears.
 The mother’s responsiveness is a key factor
during the subjective omnipotence phase,
because she is in a state of, as Winnicott calls
it, primary maternal preoccupation.
 This primary maternal preoccupation means
that the mother adapts her entire existence and
subsequent behavior to whatever the baby
expresses as a wish or desire. Because the
mother’s state allows her to be so responsive,
the baby experiences a moment of illusion, as
Winnicott calls it.
 The moment of illusion, is the infant’s belief
that, based on his experience, or his wish for
the object created exactly that object.
Objective Reality
 Progressively, the mother begins to recede as she
becomes interested in her own personhood.
 Winnicott felt that this was an essential stage that leads to
the child realizing that he or she is not omnipotent as
believed during the subjective omnipotence phase.
 It is at this point that the baby learns he or she is
dependent on his or her mother and that there are other
people coexisting with him or her.
 The children experiences this stage in such a way that
Winnicott entitled it objective reality. During objective
reality the child becomes aware that the object, mainly his
mother, he relates to is separate and not within his or her
realm of control.
Transitional Experience
 The middle ground between objective reality (alternatively
referred to in literature as the “not-me”) and subjective
omnipotence (alternatively the “me”) is what Winnicott called
the transitional experience. This experience is a transitional
zone between the self and the real world.
 Central in the transitional experience is the transitional object
that inhabits this zone, which to the infant represents the mother
or her breast when she is absent. This object can alternatively
be referred to as the first “not-me” possession; a teddy bear, a
blanket, etc.
 The child does not experience this object as created by him or
herself nor as entirely detached but instead the transitional
object is a fantasy. It is a way for the child to maintain a
connection to the mother while she progressively distances
herself. According to Winnicott, this experience is marked by
anxiety and it is important for the child to have an object as a
defense to this anxiety.
 Transition refers to aiding the child while the mother
separates. The transitional object as described by
Winnicott is very ambiguous as transitional has a
double meaning.
 The object is both a fantasy created by the child to
feel connected to the mother, while at the same time
it a mixture between the mother in the subjective
phase and the mother in the objective phase.
 The child clings to the transitional object as it
transitions between the two phases, while he or she
finds a balance between his or her own subjectivity
and accommodation to others.
 The transitional experience as described by Winnicott
is the phase where the infant can develop his or her
creative self while still feeling protected.
Good-Enough Mother
 Winnicott,describes primary maternal
preoccupation, the psychophysiological
preparedness of a new mother for
motherhood, as a special phase in
which a mother is able to identify
closely and intuitively with her infant, in
order that she may supply first body-
needs, later emotional needs, and allow
the beginnings of integration and ego-
development.
 So being a "good enough mother" is fairly complex. It
involves a balancing act between two equally important
processes for a child's healthy cognitive development
and even his future happiness.
 1) At first, the mother or caretaker must devotedly
attend to the infant's every need;
 2) The mother must gradually allow the baby to
experience a need apart from its immediate fulfillment--
although naturally this time period must be very short
at first and increase with time.
 In sum, with good enough mothering, a child has the
ability to live in two worlds: the world of
illusion, fantasy, and magic, on the one hand, and on
the other hand, a world that does not
always conform to his wishes.
 The good-enough mother is a mother whose
conscious and unconscious physical and
emotional attunement to her baby adapts to
her baby appropriately at differing stages of
infancy, thus allowing an optimal environment
for the healthy establishment of a separate
being, eventually capable of mature object
relations.
 Winnicott sees the key role of the good-
enough mother as adaptation to the baby,
thus giving it a sense of control and
subjective omnipotence.
 Three key aspects of the environment identified by
Winnicott are holding, handling and object-
presenting. The mother may thus hold the child,
handle it and present objects to it, whether it is
herself, her breast or a separate object. The good-
enough mother will do this to the general satisfaction
of the child.
 The good-enough mother is described as responding
to the infant's gesture, allowing the infant the
temporary illusion of omnipotence, the realization of
hallucination, and protection from the unthinkable
anxiety (primitive agonies) that threatens the
immature ego in the stage of absolute dependence of
development. Failure in this stage may result,
ultimately, in psychosis.
 Different experiences in time and space
 The good-enough mother tries to provide what the
infant needs, but she instinctively leaves a time lag
between the demands and their satisfaction and
progressively increases it. As Winnicott states: "The
good-enough mother...starts off with an almost
complete adaptation to her infant's needs, and as
time proceeds she adapts less and less completely,
gradually, according to the infant's growing ability to
deal with her failure" (Winnicott, 1953).
 The good enough mother stands in contrast with the
"perfect" mother who satisfies all the needs of the
infant on the spot, thus preventing him/her from
developing
 True Self & False Self
 Winnicott used the term "self" to describe both "ego" and
 self-as-object.
 True Self
 “Only the true self can be creative and only the true self can feel real”
 , the True self is the instinctive core of the personality, the infant's
capacity to recognize and enact her spontaneous needs for self-
expression.
 A True self that has a sense of integrity, of connected wholeness
 When the infant first expresses a spontaneous gesture it is an
indication to the existence of a potential true self.
 Yet, the True Self begins to have life, through the strength given to the
infant's weak ego by the mother's responsiveness. This developmental
process is dependent on the mother’s behavior and attitude:
 False Self
 When the person has to comply with external rules, such as
being polite or following social codes, then a False self is
used. The False self is a mask of the false persona that
constantly seeks to anticipate demands of others in order to
maintain the relationship.
 If the mother is "not good-enough," she is unable to sense
and respond optimally to her infant's needs and instead,
substitutes her own gestures with which the infant complies;
thereby, this repeated compliance becomes the ground
for the earliest mode of the False self existence.
 According to Winnicott, in every person there
is a True and False self and this organization
can be placed on a continuum between the
healthy and the pathological False self.
 The primary function of the False self is
defensive, to protect the True self from threat,
wounding, or even destruction. This is an
unconscious process
 Object relations theory suggests that
the way people relate to others and
situations in their adult lives is shaped
by family experiences during infancy.
For example, an adult who
experienced neglect or abuse in
infancy would expect similar
behavior from others who remind
them of the neglectful or abusive
parent from their past.
Thank you