Nevertheless, Winnicott did not undervalue the role of the false self in the human personality, regarding it as a necessary form of defensive organization similar to that of a caretaker that protects the true self hides behind so that it may continue to exist.

Five levels of false self-organization were identified by Winnicott, running along a kind of continuum.
# In the most severe instance, the false self completely replaces and ousts the true self, leaving the latter a mere possibility.
# Less severely, the false