Protecting the Self: Defense Mechanisms in Action

by Phebe Cramer

Integrating theory, research, and practical applications, this timely book provides a comprehensive examination of defense mechanisms and their role in both normal development and psychopathology. The author 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. Many lucid examples illustrate what these mechanisms look like in everyday life; the impact of age, gender, and personality differences; what happens when defenses are used maladaptively; and how they are affected by psychotherapy. Challenges in assessment are considered, and empirically supported instruments and approaches are discussed in depth.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction

384 pages, Hardcover

First published May 18, 2006

Reviews

[Dia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an in-depth examination of three defense mechanisms, denial, projection, and identification. Most of the examining is done via research studies (rather than, say, literary analyses or case studies, although there is a bit of both of those, as well). Many of the studies were done by Cramer herself -- it seems she's been at this for a number of years -- and at times the book read like a compendium of the author's published academic work, which I suppose isn't a bad thing. It is satisfying to see the numbers and to see that they do point toward trends but don't allow large declarations to be made -- this satisfies my need for truths to be presented without exaggeration.

Cramer looks at the three defenses from just about every angle -- gender, IQ, normal, pathological -- but she especially focuses on the developmental angle. That is, use of the three defenses seems to be correlated with chronological or psychological age. This thesis seems to be her original contribution, and the three chapters in which she elucidates the developmental aspects of the defenses in a more theoretical way are stand-alone treatises of great value. The insights that come out of the research, on the other hand, are not so clear, for the most part, but they are suggestive (...of further research). One research-based insight that seems fairly clear is that immature defenses like denial are actually adaptive for those with lower IQs -- but perhaps this sort of thing needs to be kept buried in an academic book rather than broadcasted on the Internet...

I suppose I do have one wish regarding this book, and that is that it had more to say about psychotherapy. It wasn't her aim, but Cramer's book does raise questions about how to work with those who rely heavily on defenses that are inappropriate for their age; it assumes that the reader has been trained in psychoanalytic methods. However, the book has helped me, an ordinary, beginning clinician, identify and respect the three defenses in those I encounter daily, and that is no small thing.

[Odin · Rating 5 out of 5]

کتاب " Protecting the Self: Defense Mechanisms in Action "نوشته فبی کرامر، تحلیل دقیق و بالینی مکانیسم‌های دفاعی را ارائه می‌دهد. کرامر نشان می‌دهد که دفاع‌ها نه صرفاً واکنش‌های منفی یا “مشکل‌ساز”، بلکه ابزارهای روانی پیچیده‌ای هستند که فرد برای محافظت از خود، حفظ انسجام شخصیت و مدیریت اضطراب به کار می‌گیرد. کتاب با استفاده از مثال‌های بالینی ملموس نشان می‌دهد که دفاع‌ها چگونه در زندگی روزمره و روابط بین‌فردی ظاهر می‌شوند و چگونه می‌توان آن‌ها را تشخیص داد و تحلیل کرد. از منظر یک دانشجوی روانشناسی و یک کاندیدا روانکاوی، این اثر کمک می‌کند تا هم بیماران را با دقت بیشتری بفهمیم و هم خودمان را در مواجهه با انتقال و مقاومت‌های آن‌ها، بهتر تنظیم کنیم.

[Madly Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, it's taking me months to get through this and I've neglected so much of my own work trying to understand all these studies, because this is really what Cramer is writing about, studies. She focuses mostly on 3 defense mechanisms found in child development. Cramer died last year and had a long, highly productive career focusing on highly influencing work in her field. She concentrated on denial, projection, and identification, and all her work was related to TAT test. She did not connect narcissism with defense mechanisms though. I had already read several of Cramer's papers and was hoping for such wider insights in the study of defense mechanism. I did not get that. But this was an incredible and very insightful book filled with interesting thoughts and very important work on the history of how defenses develop, etc. I suppose I will read it again at some point in my studies and rethink it. There is so much, a lifetime of work here. Valuable tool for those who are clinicians. I am not a working psychologist so it has taken me years to be able to have enough knowledge to understand much of this. I do know it does not really help that much with working with defenses, but one may recognize them in people. And that's important.

[Michael Sasson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I especially appreciated the author's integrity about what claims were made in relationship to research done and what has been (or has not been) proved. A lot of this material was new to me so I imagine it will take a while to integrate.