Yes, Prof. Watson. There is a difference, of course.

My focus was on the Sanskrit term and the possibility of that being in the path of sources of the English term.  

ātmasākṣātkāra and ātmībhāva can be synonymous for Advaitins as you noted. 

But for others , the two can be different. 

Self as the 'Who am I ?' concept , can be an identity issue and we can take self as the common axis for comparing and connecting the Sociological Self, , the Psychological Self and the Spiritual Self, Aatman. 

In fact, the discussions on Dehaatma braanti etc. are based on the recognition that there are other answers than the spiritual Aatman to the human enquiry of Who am I . All non-spiritual answers turn out to be bhraanti relative to the ultimate validity of the spiritual answer of Aatman . But they are valid in their own reference frames.  

On Wed, Aug 26, 2020 at 10:36 PM Alex Watson via INDOLOGY <indology@list.indology.info> wrote:
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 2020 11:01:01 +0530
Subject: Re: [INDOLOGY] "Psychological complexity" of Sanskrit language/literature
 
The term 'self-actualization' sounds very close to Aatmasaakshaatkaasra. 
There is the important difference, of course, that 'self-actualization' as it is used in western psychology tends to involve maximal individuation, whereas ātmasākṣātkāra or ātmībhāva involve the opposite: becoming devoid of individuation – devoid of both qualitative and numerical individuation for Advaitins; devoid of qualitative individuation for Naiyāyikas, Sāṅkhyas, etc.

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Alex Watson
Professor of Indian Philosophy
Ashoka University
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Director,  Inter-Gurukula-University Centre , Indic Academy
BoS, MIT School of Vedic Sciences, Pune, Maharashtra
BoS, Chinmaya Vishwavidyapeeth, Veliyanad, Kerala
BoS Veda Vijnana Gurukula, Bengaluru.
Member, Advisory Council, Veda Vijnana Shodha Samsthanam, Bengaluru
Former Senior Professor of Cultural Studies, 
FLAME School of Communication and FLAME School of  Liberal Education, 
Hyderabad, Telangana, INDIA.