True-Self or Real Self

True-Self or Real Self, a concept developed by Donald Winnicott, is the authentic and core part of a person’s identity, based on spontaneous experience and a feeling of being alive. As distinguished from the false self (a more compliant and superficial identity created to protect the true self from being ignored or damaged), the true self includes unique feelings, needs, and creative potential. According to Winnicott, it develops when a “good-enough” caregiver responds appropriately to an infant’s spontaneous gestures and needs.