The Processes Of Defense

"Joseph Fernando provides the first in-depth exploration and up-to-date revision of the psychoanalytic theory of defenses since Anna Freud's 1936 classic, The Ego and the Mechanisms of Defense. The workings of three basic forms of defense - repression, denial, and post-traumatic defenses - are clearly described and illustrated with examples from Dr. Fernando's clinical practice, and new concepts including the zero process, contrast defenses, and compound defenses are introduced." --Book Jacket.

`[The client material]... stimulated thought and reflection... Clark presented a large number of very tricky case studies and illustrated all manner of different and interesting ways of responding to clients who find it difficult to engage with the process of counselling. Furthermore, this is done in the framework of a model of counselling which integrates humanistic, psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioural theories in a most interesting and convincing way. In the end, I learned quite a lot and found myself pondering the case histories days later' - Counselling, The Journal of the British Association for Counselling The understanding of defence mechanisms is vital to counsellors and psychotherapists, particula

What is the scientific status and the "truth value" of the concept of defense mechanisms? Among contemporary psychologists, three types of answers to this question may be expected. Some would wholeheartedly endorse the theoretical, clinical, and research value of this notion; others would reject it outright. Between these two extremes, a large number of observers, perhaps the majority, would suspend their judgment. Their attitude, compounded of hope and doubt, would capitalize on defense as an interesting and promising concept. At the same time, these psy chologists would express skepticism and disappointment over its clinical limitations, theoretical ambiguity, and research failures. The present volume is primarily addressed to the audience of hopeful skeptics-those who have not given up on the notion of defense, yet have been frustrated by the difficulties of incorporating it into the modern, streamlined structure of psychology. To this end, we have brought together theoretical and empirical contributions germane to defense together with reports about their applications to clinical and personality assessment, especially in relation to psychopathology, psychosomatics, and psycho therapeutic intervention.

The idea that the human mind-that faculty of the intellect which we use to define and discern the truth-might also be used to deceive itself is not new. The classic orator Demosthenes warned of this possibility in 349 B.C. when he wrote that "Nothing is more easy than to deceive one's self; what a man wishes he generally believes to be true." 1 Even Jean Jacques Rousseau, who suggested the possibility of man as "noble savage," alerts us to this paradox, when he writes "Jamais fa nature ne nous trompe; c'est toujours nous qui nous trompons" ("Nature never deceives us; it is always we who deceive ourselves). 2 But it was Sigmund Freud who placed this idea firmly into the field of psychopathology and then, later, into a general psychological theory. According to Freud, understanding the function of a defense mechanism means not only fathoming the origin of pathological symptoms but also comprehending a model of the mind that includes both conscious and unconscious mental processes. From this initial focus on the general process of defense, Freud and his followers went on to identify various forms this process might take, with the result that today we have a list of 3 more than 37 defense mechanisms described in the literature.

Coping and Defending: Processes of Self-Environment Organization investigates coping and defending within the context of personal-social psychology, with emphasis on processes of self-environment organization. Topics range from ego and stress to personality theory, family, and child rearing. Comprised of 13 chapters, this book begins with a discussion on theories and conceptualizations of ego, paying particular attention to its logical constraints as state; the neomechanical personal man; rational choice; and continuity and discontinuity in states. Subsequent chapters explore coping, defense, and fragmentation as ego processes; immanent value in personality theory; problems and perspectives in investigating ego processes; and the interregulation between structures and ego processes. The next section is largely devoted to empirically based findings concerning the development of ego processing; the link between stress and processing; and processing in families. The final chapter describes research aimed at developing and improving coping and defense scales based on personality inventories. This monograph will be of interest to developmentalists, cognitivists, personologists, clinicians, and social psychologists, as well as sociologists and perhaps anthropologists.

Integrating theory, research, and applications, this book examines the defense mechanisms and their role in both normal development and psychopathology. It describes how children and adults mobilize specific kinds of defenses to maintain their psychological equilibrium and preserve self-esteem, particularly in situations of trauma or stress.

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