Donald Winnicott

1. Contribution and Relevance of Ideas

Donald Woods Winnicott (1896–1971) was a British pediatrician and psychoanalyst whose work transformed the understanding of early emotional development in children. He integrated medical knowledge with psychoanalysis, shifting the focus from pathology to the conditions in which the psyche is formed.

Key Winnicott concepts:

• The Good Enough Mother — a realistic model of sensitive but not perfect caregiving.
• The Transitional Object and Transitional Space — tools for moving from dependence to autonomy.
• True and False Self — a description of how early developmental conditions shape authenticity or an adaptive mask.

Today they are applied in:

• attachment-based therapy;
• perinatal psychology;
• play therapy and art therapy.

2. Biography

Winnicott was born in Plymouth, England, into a wealthy family. He was the only son, surrounded by care, but raised in an emotionally restrained environment. This, he said, taught him to value the inner world of the child.
He studied medicine at Cambridge, served as a doctor in World War I, and later became a pediatrician. For more than 40 years, he worked at Paddington Hospital, consulting with families. In parallel, he trained in psychoanalysis at the British Psychoanalytical Society, underwent analysis with James Strachey, and engaged in both debates and collaborations with Melanie Klein and Anna Freud.

3. Main Concepts

3.1. The Good Enough MotherDefinition:

The “good enough mother” is a parent who, in the first months of a baby’s life, is highly attuned to their needs but gradually introduces small frustrations, allowing the child to develop autonomy (Winnicott, 1965).

Example from the literature:

In Stern’s (1995) study, a young mother responded to her baby’s cries with a delay of 20–40 seconds. This interval did not cause distress but helped the baby develop tolerance for waiting. After a few months, the child could calmly wait a few seconds before calling the mother — which the author attributed to the effect of the “good enough mother.”

3.2. The Transitional ObjectDefinition:

A transitional object is the first “not-me” possession (a blanket, a soft toy) that a child uses for comfort in the mother’s absence, symbolizing both her presence and the beginning of the child’s own independence (Winnicott, 1953).

Example from the literature:

Winnicott (1953) describes a 4-year-old boy hospitalized for 2 weeks. His favorite blanket served as an emotional anchor during the separation from his mother. He slept with it and held it during procedures, which reduced his anxiety and prevented regression.

3.3. Transitional SpaceDefinition:

Transitional space is a psychological “area” between internal reality and the external world, where the child learns creativity, play, and symbolic thinking (Winnicott, 1971).

Example from the literature:

Jones & Jenkins (2014) describe therapy with a 6-year-old girl with anxiety. She always brought a stuffed seal to sessions and, over time, began leaving it in the therapist’s office, as if “trusting” the therapist to keep it safe. This became a symbol of accepting the stability of the relationship and confidence in return.

3.4. True and False SelfDefinition:

• True Self — the core of the personality, formed in an atmosphere of acceptance and sensitivity, expressed through spontaneity and creativity.
• False Self — a defensive structure that arises when a child must adapt to external expectations, suppressing their own impulses (Winnicott, 1960).

4. Significance for Perinatal Psychology

In perinatal practice, Winnicott’s ideas help to:

• reduce maternal anxiety by reminding them they do not need to be perfect;
• maintain connection through transitional objects during separations;
• create a “holding environment” for women in the postpartum period;
• see therapy as fulfilling the role of a “good enough parent” for adult clients with deficits in early experience.

References

• Jones, M., & Jenkins, P. (2014). Transitional objects in child therapy: Symbol, bridge and relationship. Journal of Child Psychotherapy, 40(3), 291–307.
• Stern, D. N. (1995). The motherhood constellation: A unified view of parent-infant psychotherapy. New York: Basic Books.
• Winnicott, D. W. (1953). Transitional objects and transitional phenomena. International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 34, 89–97.
• Winnicott, D. W. (1960). Ego distortion in terms of true and false self. In The maturational processes and the facilitating environment (pp. 140–152). London: Hogarth Press.
• Winnicott, D. W. (1965). The maturational processes and the facilitating environment. London: Hogarth Press.
• Winnicott, D. W. (1971). Playing and reality. London: Tavistock.