Winnicott's_Three_Stages_of_Development

WINNICOTT’S THREE STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT Winnicott has identified three stages of development. The stage of Absolute Dependency The stage of Relative Dependency and Towards Independence ABSOLUTE DEPENDENCY The first stage in the child is matched in the mother by “primary maternal preoccupation”. In the early emotional development of every infant the infant is dependent on the physical provision of the mother of her womb and infant care.The infant possesses all that is inherited , including their own innate potential for the process of maturation and pathological inherited trends and no one can alter these genetic features. The whole maturational process depends for it’s evolution on the environmental position. That is to say that the environment does not make the child but at best allows it to realise it’s true potential. Exactly how much depends on how you view the “Nature v Nurture” arguments. The term “Maturational Processes” refers to development of the “ego” and of the “self” and includes the “story” of the “Id”, of instincts and defences in the “ego” relative to the instinct. So when parents produce a baby they have started a development process where at first the baby is a “lodger” in the woman’s body, then her arms and then in the home.What the child becomes depends on the development of these maturational processes.If these processes are not blocked but are met and allowed to become part of the child then the child has more chance to develop in a psychologically healthy way. The way parents, particularly mum adapt to the demands of this process is demanding but does not demand perfection and Winnicott talks about being a “good enough” mother. In this first stage of Absolute dependency the mother is totally preoccupied with the infant and focused on it’s every need; with the result that the infant has illusions of omnipotence and if she continues to be empathic and responsive she maintains this primary narcissm. The infant is only concerned with it’s own being; the world only exists in terms of it’s own world. This is a healthy; the child has it’s survival needs met in that it is “fed and watered” but it has other sensory needs. (Freud terms them erotic needs) which she must meet. If the mother complies with the needs of the child at this stage,then the child can express it’s authentic self. Each child has different rates of maturation but if the mother “mirrors” the child and returns the childs gestures it knows it is accepted .How comforting this feels as an adult in a therapy session. Also think of the use the term”held” in therapy which is what a mother may do with a child both physically and psychologically .By this “mirroring “ he is seeing himself and his whole sense of being. If the child cannot see his mother’s empathic responses then he may develop a compliant false self which seeks to adapt to the needs of the mother. RELATIVE DEPENDENCY The second stage of development is the phase of Relative dependency. The infant starts to have new experiences and from the illusion of complete omnipotence starts to adapt to reality. This starts at about six months old but time varies on the child’s own innate pace. The child starts to experience frustrations and disillusions ; building up a template of experience for real life. Mother may start to lose her primary maternal preoccupation or the “madness of maternity” and becomes less infant focused and starts to be less available; returning to her “normal” attitude. The process needs to be gradual , so that there is a gradual transition and acceptance of the change and the child’s loss of it’s perception of omnipotence. The child starts to become a self with a past, present and future. The mother starts to have her own life and becomes more independent of her infants needs, often the child’s growing up can be part response to this. When the child suffers these frustrations he has a reason to feel angry. Inside the child are the ingredients for aggression which can now be vented as anger towards mum (or other objects which represent her) and this is a healthy part of development. If aggression is not expressed and vented where does it go' There is also a beginning of the development of intellectual understanding which develops as an extension of conditioned reflexes.If we think of an infant expecting a feed; the time comes when they can wait a few minutes when they hear noises to indicate food is coming. Instead of just being excited by the noises he uses the noises as a “news item” to in order to be able to wait. Infants vary in the capability to use intellectual understanding early, the understanding they might have is displayed by the existence of a “muddle” in the way the reality is presented. So where the infant care has as it’s main characteristic a steady presentation of the world it can find an “unmuddled” presentation of external reality by being cared for by a human being who is “consistenly herself” This would seem to be in common with Bowlby’s ideas of a mother as a “secure base” In this stage the child is becoming aware of himself in his own skin, different from mum.He is becoming aware of his growing independence.When mum is away for a moment beyond the time span of his capability to believe in her survival, anxiety appears and this is the first sign that the infant “knows” Before this time if mum is away, the infant fails to benefit from her special ability to ward off “impingements” and essential development in the ego structure fail to be well established. So for the ego structure to be developed in the child’s best interests then mum’s failings seem to need to be gradual and at a time when the child is developed enough to deal with them. The infant then becomes to know that mother is necessary and the need for her can be fierce and some mothers hate to leave their children at this time. The children often feel hate and disillusionment during this phase of special need. This phase could be said to last roughly 6mths. to 2 yrs. By the time they are 2 yrs old they have begun new developments and these equip the child to deal with loss. A great relief from independence comes from the infants development of being able to “step into someones shoes” and out of this comes a better understanding of mothers persona and separate existence.The effect of these new mental mechanisms is that the infant can allow for events outside his control and because he can now identify with mum or parents can now “sidetrack”some of the “hatred” which is felt toward that which threatens his omnipotence. Speech becomes understood and used too which can help understanding. Eventually the infant is a whole unit with an inside and out. Outside means “not me” and inside means “me”; a place in which to store things. The infants mental growth takes the form of a continuous interchange between inner and outer reality; each being enriched by the other. TOWARDS INDEPENDENCE Once these things are established the final third phase of development can take place.Winnicott calls this stage “Towards Independence” as the independence is never absolute. The individual does not become isolated but related to the environment. The social environment of family ,school, work, community etc.The child has to face the world and all it’s complexities ,seeing and learning what is already present in his own self and widening circles of life. The child becomes identified with society because society is a sample of self ‘s personal world as well as being a sample of outside phenomena.In this way a true independence develops with the child able to live a satisfactory personal existence whilst being in society. Gradually the healthy individual graduates from one group to another , embracing new experiences and widening circles as they go. Instinct tensions reappear that were first laid down in early childhood . Puberty is a time when the sexual drive emerges strongly and can come along with lots of other feelings. Puberty can be a time of defiance and anger when the narcissism of infancy reappear strongly and the illusion of omnipotence resurrects itself. “Towards independence” describes the strivings of toddler,child and child at puberty. In the latency period children are usually contented with whatever dependency they are lucky enough to experience. Adults continue growing and growing up but they may never reach absolute maturity or complete independence.Once they have found a niche in society they tend to follow a set pattern and compromise generally between copying parents and establishing their own personal identity. Healthy individuals are not usually isolated from society but related to it and can be said to be interdependent. Many people arrive not far from complete independence and with a built in social sense but not everyone is equipped with the sense of self and strong social connections to be able to do this. Bibliography Boundary and Space, An Introduction to the work of D.W Winnicott M Davis and D Wallbridge. Karnac Books 1987 D.W Winnicott M Jacobs. Sage Publications 1995 Winnicott A Phillips. Fontana Press . 1988