One of the most important concepts developed by D. W. Winnicott was his idea of the false self. In the course of his work, he was often preoccupied with the need to maintain a sense of psychological vitality, which could be threatened in various ways. Threats occur throughout the life cycle as parents, siblings, friends, teachers, and other people impact the individual and contribute to the creation of the inner world of fantasy, which is also self-generated. These elements can work together or separately to undermine one’s sense of vitality by the pressure to comply with a variety of demands, which can give rise to a false self. Winnicott’s principal method of exploring this issue was through his clinical work, which was informed by personal struggles instrumental in shaping his thinking about the concept.

DW Winnicott 提出的最重要的概念之一是他对虚假自我的看法。在他的工作过程中，他常常全神贯注于保持一种心理活力的感觉，这种感觉可能会受到各种方式的威胁。威胁会贯穿整个生命周期，因为父母、兄弟姐妹、朋友、老师和其他人会影响个人并促成幻想的内心世界的创造，这也是自我产生的。这些因素可以共同作用，也可以单独作用，通过满足各种要求的压力来破坏一个人的活力感，从而产生虚假的自我。温尼科特探索这个问题的主要方法是通过他的临床工作，他的个人斗争有助于塑造他对这个概念的思考。