Lmsw Defenses Of The Ego

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Defenses of the Ego

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- Repression
- Compensation
- Conversion
- Denial
- Displacement
- Dissociation
- Idealization
- Identification
- Identification with the Aggressor
- Incorporation
- Inhibition
- Introjection
- Isolation of Affect
- Projection
- Rationalization
- Reaction Formation
- Regression
- Sublimation
- Substitution
- Symbolization
- Undoing
- Turning Against Self
- Splitting
- Projective Identification
- Devaluation
- Acting Out
- Decompensation

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Repression ***

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- Unknown/Forgotten

Forgetting in order to banish unacceptable ideas, fantasies, affects, or impulses from consciousness

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Compensation

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Enables one to make up for real or fancied deficiencies (Ex: A person who stutters becomes a very expressive writer)

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Conversion

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Repressed urge is expressed disguised as a disturbance of body function, usually of the sensory, voluntary nervous system (as pain, deafness, blindness, paralysis, convulsions, tics, ex.)

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Denial ***

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- Conscious component
- Primitive defense; inability to acknowledge true significance of thoughts, feelings, wishes, behavior, or external reality factors that are consciously intolerable

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Displacement ***

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Directing an impulse, wish, or feeling toward a person or situation that is not its real object, thus permitting expression in a less threatening situation
- Shift something to a less threatening target
(Ex: A man angry at his boss kicks the dog)

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Dissociation ***

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A process which enables a person to split mental functions in a manner that allows him to express forbidden or unconscious impulses without taking responsibility for the action, either because he is unable to remember the disowned behavior, or because if is not experienced as his own

- Pathologically expressed as fugue states, amnesia, dissociative neurosis, or normally expressed as daydreaming

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Idealization

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- Overestimation of an admired aspect of another
- May be conscious or unconscious

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Identification

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- Universal mechanism whereby a person patterns himself after a significant other.
- Plays major role in personality development; especially superego development

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Identification with the Aggressor

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- Mastering anxiety by identifying with a powerful aggressor to counteract feelings of helplessness and to feel powerful oneself.
- Usually involves behaving like the aggressor
(Ex: Abusing others after one has been abused oneself)

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Incorporation

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Primitive mechanism in which psychic representation of a person (or parts of a person) is/are figuratively ingested

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Inhibition

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Loss of motivation to engage in (usually pleasurable) activity avoided because it might stir up conflict over forbidden impulses

Ex: Writing, learning, or work blocks or social shyness

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Introjection

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Loved or hated external objects are symbolically absorbed within self (converse or projection)

(Ex: In severe depression, unconscious acceptable hatred is turned towards self)

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Isolation of Affect

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Unacceptable impulse, idea, act is separated from its original memory source, thereby removing the original emotional charge associated with is

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Projection

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- Primitive defense
- Attributing one's own disowned attitudes, wishes, feelings, urges to some external object

(Ex: Believing a spouse is angry at the kids when one is angry at oneself)

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Rationalization

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- Third line of defense
- Not unconscious
- Giving believable explanation for irrational behaviors
- Motivated by unacceptable unconscious wishes or by defenses used to cope with such wishes

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Reaction Formation

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Person adopts affects, ideas, attitudes, behaviors that are opposite of those he harbors consciously or unconsciously

(Ex: Being excessively sweet to mask unconscious anger)

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Regression

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-Partial or symbolic return to more infantile patterns of reacting or thinking.

- Can be in service to ego (Ex: as dependency during illness)

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Sublimation

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Potentially maladaptive feelings or behaviors are diverted into socially acceptable, adaptive channels

(Ex: A person who has angry feelings channels them into athletics)

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Substitution

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- Unattainable or unacceptable goal, emotion, or object is replaced by one more attainable or acceptable

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Symbolization

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A mental representation stands for some other thing, class of things, or attribute.
- This mechanism underlies dream formation and some other symptoms (such as conversion reactions, obsessions, compulsions) with a link between the latent meaning of the symptom and the symbol
- Usually unconscious

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Undoing

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A person uses words or actions to symbolically reverse or negate unacceptable thoughts, feelings, or actions
(Ex: A person compulsively washing hands to deal with obsessive thoughts)

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Turning Against Self

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Defense to deflect hostile aggression or other unacceptable impulses from another to self

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Splitting

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Defensive mechanism associated with personality organization in which a person perceives self and others as "all good" or "all bad".
- A process in which introjects of opposite quality are kept apart resulting in ego weakness that cannot neutralize aggression
- This process leads to a selective lack of impulse control
- Splitting serves to protect the good objects
- A person cannot integrate the good and bad in people

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Projective Identification

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- Unconsciously perceiving other's behavior as a reflection of one's own identity.
- A form of projection utilized by person's with borderline personality organization

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Devaluation

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- When a person attributes exaggerated negative qualities to self or another
- It is the split of primitive idealization
- Frequently used by persons with borderline disorder

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Acting Out

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Emotional conflict is dealt with through actions rather than feelings

(Ex: Instead of talking about feeling neglected, a person will get into trouble to get attention)

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Decompensation

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Deterioration of existing defenses