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Donald Winnicott was a pediatrician who became a psychoanalyst. His conception of human development stressed the need for the continuity of care in infancy with 'good-enough mothering,' since only a 'good enough holding environment' could prevent an infant from becoming overwhelmed or could sustain an ability for 'going on being.' He thought of mental illness as an inhibition of spontaneity and believed psychopathology originated from breaks or gaps in the continuity of care in early childhood and represented a regression to the point at which the environment failed the child. Traumatic gaps, to Winnicott, were early intrusions or deprivations caused by unempathic parenting. Unlike Darwin, who stressed the need for an organism to comply with environmental demands in order to increase chances of survival, Winnicott felt that human development often depends on a struggle against compliance. For example, a mother who was unable to adapt to her child's needs would foster compliance. To manage her demands, her child would have to construct a 'false self.' Winnicott saw defiance versus compliance as a crucial issue because of the infant's dependence on the mother for survival. While Freud saw instinctual gratification and tension relief as the primary forces driving early infancy, Winnicott believed that infants begin life as social beings seeking relatedness. He believed psychoanalytic treatment should provide an environment analogous to good early maternal care and that cure entails a release from compliance and the development of spontaneity. He also felt that mental integrity is dependent upon the mutuality of relationships, including the one between analyst and patient. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)