I Am, a Central Concept of Winnicott

Abstract

The attainment of unit status or I AM is a crucial stage in Winnicott's theory of development and arguably ranks amongst Winnicott's more well known ideas, such as transitional object, true and false self, and primary maternal preoccupation. Using Winnicott's 1968 paper ‘Sum, I am’, the author traces the dangers inherent in attaining I AM and what might hamper this achievement, the personal significance of numbers and divisibility, and how this links with his subsequent ideas on monotheism and a radical revision of Freud's dual drive theory. Returning to the ‘Sum, I am’ paper, the author briefly explores the importance Winnicott places on play in pedagogy and the significance of an intermediate space followed by Winnicott's thoughts about death, dissociation, and the importance of a mouse! Four clinical examples are used to illustrate difficulties in achieving I AM. Finally, the author suggests the spatula game in ‘Observation of infants in a set situation’ published over a quarter of a century earlier is a prime example of an I AM experience, with a beginning, middle and end.