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101 Defenses: How the Mind Shields Itself
Defenses are mental operations that restore or maintain psychic equilibrium when people feel that they cannot manage emotions that stem from conflict; they remove components of unpleasant emotions from conscious awareness. For example, using sex, food, or hostility to relieve tension - that's a defense - catalogued here as entry number 68: Impulsivity. Screaming at someone can be a defense. Playing golf can be a defense. So can saving money. Or at least all of these activities may involve defenses. In this book, Blackman catalogs 101 defenses - the most ever compiled - with descriptions practical for use in everyday assessment and treatment of psychopathology. He explains how to detect and interpret a defense and offers supportive therapy techniques. The many practical tips interspersed throughout this text make it an excellent reference tool for students and experienced clinicians, while the user-friendly features allow all readers to experience how psychological defenses operate in everyday life.
232 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
40 people are currently reading
417 people want to read
About the author
Jerome S. Blackman
11 books7 followersJerome S. Blackman, M.D., is Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at Eastern Virginia Medical School and a training civilian supervisor and consultant to the faculty at the Naval Medical Center Department of Psychiatry in Portsmouth, Virginia.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
August 29, 2019
I never EVER thought I would be saying this, but........
I’m increasingly interested in the psychodynamic perspective.
Earlier in my career (I’m a therapist), I would breakout in a hate rash at the mere mention of psychodynamic psychotherapy.
W H Y ?
Because there are some extremely, extraordinarily confused, confusing, outdated and just plain wack AF ideas associated with the psychodynamic approach.
And to make matters worse, psychodynamic adherents tend to serve (in my experience) a vexing brand of pseudo-intellectual schlock coupled with a condescending certitude that they do the deep work, and every other orientation is superficial.
! F U C K O F F !
Admittedly, the lion’s share of my aversion to the model comes from working with a crazy old bat of a psychodynamically oriented psychiatrist who would bludgeon and eviscerate the clients with straight fucking wounding nonsense on stilts.
Anyway...
That being said, I have been on a psychodynamic kick lately and I have to admit, it’s a LOT of fun.
There are some real treasures buried under all that trash, and discovering them at this stage of my life and career has been utterly vivifying.
This book is a terrific example of what’s good, bad and ugly about the psychodynamic approach.
! W A R N I N G !
When used without real humility and skill, psychodynamic interpretation and confrontation can be punitive, invalidating and (as previously mentioned) wounding AF.
However, the psychodynamic model has a few things totally nailed in ways that other models just don’t.
For instance:
The construct of transference and counter-transference (referring to the problematic relational dynamics that can occur in therapy) is one of those classic psychodynamic constructs that never died because it’s so dang real and useful.
Generally speaking, Ego Defense (the subject of this book) is a psychodynamic construct that has gone out of vogue, but may actually have real use value.
In brief, an ego defense is any psychological tactic that a person uses in order to not feel emotional discomfort, or to otherwise function in this cold cruel world ( 🥶 👹 🌎 ).
Some defenses are mostly adaptive e.g. humor and sublimation (channeling destructive impulses like aggressive rage, into productive behaviors like going to the gym and wailing on your pecks).
Some defenses are immature, but fairly benign, like fantasy, passive aggression and acting out.
Other examples like psychotic denial and delusional projection are reliably pathological.
Psychodynamic Interpretation refers to the therapeutic reification of a clients psychological traits in terms of their defensive functions.
For example; the therapist interprets a clients refusal to admit they have a drinking problem as a defensive denial strategy.
Psychodynamic Confrontation refers to a kind of therapeutic pointing out of a clients defenses.
Using the previous example, the therapist might skillfully name the clients refusal to accept that they have a problem as denial, and then assist the client in an exploration and resolution of the underlying thoughts and feelings that the client may be trying to avoid.
: N O T E :
Lots of therapists fuck this up royally. They think their job is to harshly confront the defenses, before identifying and expiring the shameful or painful thing the client is defended against.
That’s a HUGE mistake. Those defenses are probably there for a dang good reason. In other words, the defenses are a solution, however maladaptive.
As we say in AA; ‘it’s not the thing, it’s the thing behind the thing that’s the thing’ (you have to say it with a Brooklyn accent to make it work).
Bearing this in mind.
It’s probably a good practice to identify and solve the problem (the thing behind the thing) before attempting to remove defense (the maladaptive solution).
For example; a lot of well intended therapist in addiction recovery view the substance use as the problem, and view their job as keeping the client off drugs.
But lots of people use drugs to cope with anxiety, depression and trauma, and if you don’t concurrently treat the underlying issues, you’re effectively stripping the client of their only source of relief, and they will either hate their existence and/or relapse.
The author of this book, Jerome S. Blackman is BIG on confrontation, and not all that concerned with supportive exploration, although he does advocate for it in certain cases, specifically for client who ‘can’t handle’ interpretation and confrontation.
Some wise and observant soul said; ‘advice is the junk mail of life’.
And some of the advice that Dr. Blackman gives to therapists in this text is straight up SPAM!
So take it all in with a boulder of salt.
But some of the 101 Defenses described in this book are pure mithril (referring to the previous mettle in LOTR, not the Celtic rock band).
Here a a few of my favorites:
Defensive Socialization: Refers to defensive use of social skills and engagements to avoid psychological discomfort.
Defensive Social Distancing: Refers to defensive use of social distancing to avoid psychological discomfort.
Relational Comets: Refers figuratively to individuals with a highly ambivalent or ‘borderline’ interpersonal style, who engage in relational ‘splitting’ i.e. vacillation between idealization and demonization of the other.
The metaphor refers to the elliptical orbit of comets, which ‘come close to the warmth of the sun, then shoot back out into the coldness of space, only to circle back to the closeness ad infinitum.
Human “comets” analogously cycle in and out of relational warm/closeness and cold/distance.
Relational Moons: Refers figuratively to individuals with a highly dismissive, remote, ‘schizoid’ interpersonal style.
These individuals defensively utilize fixed relational distance to avoid interpersonal discomfort.
Seducing the Aggressor: Refers to the adoption of a seductive stance; either sexual or sycophantic, in response to a perceived aggressor.
Individuals who seduce the aggressor are likely also experiencing; reaction-formation, inhibition of judgment, counterphobia, and minimization.
Individuals who experience defensive seduction of the aggressor may also be subsequently drawn into chaotic or abusive adult relationships e.g. habitual and/or repetitive relationships with ‘bad boy/girl’ types whom the individual wishes to fix or reform via love.
Therapists can be drawn into seductive strategies with clients who threaten to leave treatment.
In this dynamic, a therapist’s seductive defense behavior occurs in response to their own insecure attachment, and/or in response to anxiety regarding lost business.
! 😳 !
Some of my other faves include:
* Defensive Grandiosity.
* Defensive Impulsivity.
* Defensive Introspection.
* Sudo Independence.
* Pathological Altruism.
* Psychosomatic Object Relationship.
* Defensive Inauthenticity.
* Hyper Aestheticism.
* Identification with the Injured Object.
* Temporal Displacement to the Future.
* Defensive Frankness.
* Auto-plastic Adaptation.
* Alo-Plastic Adaptation.
Get the book and look these up.
There’s gold up in there.
There are a bunch of more commonly know defenses listed in the book that (even if your familiar with them) are absolutely worth looking up, just to get the authors interesting definitions and perspectives.
So get this book.
Even if you’re not a therapist, you can have a ball interpreting and confronting your friends and family members defenses.
No no, just kidding (not really).
Great book.
Some flaws.
Four tumblers of scotch 🥃🥃🥃🥃
I’m increasingly interested in the psychodynamic perspective.
Earlier in my career (I’m a therapist), I would breakout in a hate rash at the mere mention of psychodynamic psychotherapy.
W H Y ?
Because there are some extremely, extraordinarily confused, confusing, outdated and just plain wack AF ideas associated with the psychodynamic approach.
And to make matters worse, psychodynamic adherents tend to serve (in my experience) a vexing brand of pseudo-intellectual schlock coupled with a condescending certitude that they do the deep work, and every other orientation is superficial.
! F U C K O F F !
Admittedly, the lion’s share of my aversion to the model comes from working with a crazy old bat of a psychodynamically oriented psychiatrist who would bludgeon and eviscerate the clients with straight fucking wounding nonsense on stilts.
Anyway...
That being said, I have been on a psychodynamic kick lately and I have to admit, it’s a LOT of fun.
There are some real treasures buried under all that trash, and discovering them at this stage of my life and career has been utterly vivifying.
This book is a terrific example of what’s good, bad and ugly about the psychodynamic approach.
! W A R N I N G !
When used without real humility and skill, psychodynamic interpretation and confrontation can be punitive, invalidating and (as previously mentioned) wounding AF.
However, the psychodynamic model has a few things totally nailed in ways that other models just don’t.
For instance:
The construct of transference and counter-transference (referring to the problematic relational dynamics that can occur in therapy) is one of those classic psychodynamic constructs that never died because it’s so dang real and useful.
Generally speaking, Ego Defense (the subject of this book) is a psychodynamic construct that has gone out of vogue, but may actually have real use value.
In brief, an ego defense is any psychological tactic that a person uses in order to not feel emotional discomfort, or to otherwise function in this cold cruel world ( 🥶 👹 🌎 ).
Some defenses are mostly adaptive e.g. humor and sublimation (channeling destructive impulses like aggressive rage, into productive behaviors like going to the gym and wailing on your pecks).
Some defenses are immature, but fairly benign, like fantasy, passive aggression and acting out.
Other examples like psychotic denial and delusional projection are reliably pathological.
Psychodynamic Interpretation refers to the therapeutic reification of a clients psychological traits in terms of their defensive functions.
For example; the therapist interprets a clients refusal to admit they have a drinking problem as a defensive denial strategy.
Psychodynamic Confrontation refers to a kind of therapeutic pointing out of a clients defenses.
Using the previous example, the therapist might skillfully name the clients refusal to accept that they have a problem as denial, and then assist the client in an exploration and resolution of the underlying thoughts and feelings that the client may be trying to avoid.
: N O T E :
Lots of therapists fuck this up royally. They think their job is to harshly confront the defenses, before identifying and expiring the shameful or painful thing the client is defended against.
That’s a HUGE mistake. Those defenses are probably there for a dang good reason. In other words, the defenses are a solution, however maladaptive.
As we say in AA; ‘it’s not the thing, it’s the thing behind the thing that’s the thing’ (you have to say it with a Brooklyn accent to make it work).
Bearing this in mind.
It’s probably a good practice to identify and solve the problem (the thing behind the thing) before attempting to remove defense (the maladaptive solution).
For example; a lot of well intended therapist in addiction recovery view the substance use as the problem, and view their job as keeping the client off drugs.
But lots of people use drugs to cope with anxiety, depression and trauma, and if you don’t concurrently treat the underlying issues, you’re effectively stripping the client of their only source of relief, and they will either hate their existence and/or relapse.
The author of this book, Jerome S. Blackman is BIG on confrontation, and not all that concerned with supportive exploration, although he does advocate for it in certain cases, specifically for client who ‘can’t handle’ interpretation and confrontation.
Some wise and observant soul said; ‘advice is the junk mail of life’.
And some of the advice that Dr. Blackman gives to therapists in this text is straight up SPAM!
So take it all in with a boulder of salt.
But some of the 101 Defenses described in this book are pure mithril (referring to the previous mettle in LOTR, not the Celtic rock band).
Here a a few of my favorites:
Defensive Socialization: Refers to defensive use of social skills and engagements to avoid psychological discomfort.
Defensive Social Distancing: Refers to defensive use of social distancing to avoid psychological discomfort.
Relational Comets: Refers figuratively to individuals with a highly ambivalent or ‘borderline’ interpersonal style, who engage in relational ‘splitting’ i.e. vacillation between idealization and demonization of the other.
The metaphor refers to the elliptical orbit of comets, which ‘come close to the warmth of the sun, then shoot back out into the coldness of space, only to circle back to the closeness ad infinitum.
Human “comets” analogously cycle in and out of relational warm/closeness and cold/distance.
Relational Moons: Refers figuratively to individuals with a highly dismissive, remote, ‘schizoid’ interpersonal style.
These individuals defensively utilize fixed relational distance to avoid interpersonal discomfort.
Seducing the Aggressor: Refers to the adoption of a seductive stance; either sexual or sycophantic, in response to a perceived aggressor.
Individuals who seduce the aggressor are likely also experiencing; reaction-formation, inhibition of judgment, counterphobia, and minimization.
Individuals who experience defensive seduction of the aggressor may also be subsequently drawn into chaotic or abusive adult relationships e.g. habitual and/or repetitive relationships with ‘bad boy/girl’ types whom the individual wishes to fix or reform via love.
Therapists can be drawn into seductive strategies with clients who threaten to leave treatment.
In this dynamic, a therapist’s seductive defense behavior occurs in response to their own insecure attachment, and/or in response to anxiety regarding lost business.
! 😳 !
Some of my other faves include:
* Defensive Grandiosity.
* Defensive Impulsivity.
* Defensive Introspection.
* Sudo Independence.
* Pathological Altruism.
* Psychosomatic Object Relationship.
* Defensive Inauthenticity.
* Hyper Aestheticism.
* Identification with the Injured Object.
* Temporal Displacement to the Future.
* Defensive Frankness.
* Auto-plastic Adaptation.
* Alo-Plastic Adaptation.
Get the book and look these up.
There’s gold up in there.
There are a bunch of more commonly know defenses listed in the book that (even if your familiar with them) are absolutely worth looking up, just to get the authors interesting definitions and perspectives.
So get this book.
Even if you’re not a therapist, you can have a ball interpreting and confronting your friends and family members defenses.
No no, just kidding (not really).
Great book.
Some flaws.
Four tumblers of scotch 🥃🥃🥃🥃
December 21, 2018
Although designed for practitioners, the book offers guidance for patients who have great insight and want to learn more about their and others' defense mechanisms. Great stories and examples that accompany many of the described defenses to help with the learning process and solidify knowledge.
February 15, 2021
It describes the methods our brain uses to protect ourselves from painful memories, experiences or to "justify" a specific behavior. While the first part is focused on identification and a short description of the methods, presenting example from therapeutic experience; the second part is a theoretical one mainly addressed to therapist, focusing on methods of cooperation with patients and identification of specific disorders and methods of protection that the patients are using.
January 19, 2024
A lot of what we do as humans can ve described as defence mechanisms. The human mind is amazing. I remember a previous manager asking me to use what I just found out is a defence for what was an entirely toxic work environment. If I had listened, that might have led to the development of kind of mental illness. These are things that consistently surprise me as I read this book. Wow.
November 6, 2021
"دفاع روش هایی هست که عواطف رو از هشیاری خارج میکنه.چیزی که مهمتره اینه که دلیل دفاع هارو بفهمیم"
فصل دو وسه معرفی مکانیسم ها و مثال و طبقه بندی شون بر اساس اولین مراحلی که پدیدار میشن(مثلا فرافکنی در مرحله دهانی یا دوپاره سازی در مقعدی)رو شامل میشه
فصل پنج فنون تفسیری رو توضیح میده و یه تقسیم بندی دوباره از مکانیسم ها مثلا:مکانیسم هایی که زندگی مراجع رو تهدید میکنند
این سه فصل از کتاب برای من مفید و دوست داشتنی تر بودند.
یه بخش هایی از ترجمه اش واقعا اذیت کننده بود مثل ضمیر و فعل ها یا یه سری مثال ها که نمیدونم به چه علت انقدر محتاطانه نوشته شده بودند(ساده ترینش:توی مثالی مراجع آقایی هست که از نامزدش جدا شده و تو باید بری تو پانویس بگردی ببینی نوشته پارتنرش مذکره)این رمزی نویسی!چندبار تکرار شده
فصل دو وسه معرفی مکانیسم ها و مثال و طبقه بندی شون بر اساس اولین مراحلی که پدیدار میشن(مثلا فرافکنی در مرحله دهانی یا دوپاره سازی در مقعدی)رو شامل میشه
فصل پنج فنون تفسیری رو توضیح میده و یه تقسیم بندی دوباره از مکانیسم ها مثلا:مکانیسم هایی که زندگی مراجع رو تهدید میکنند
این سه فصل از کتاب برای من مفید و دوست داشتنی تر بودند.
یه بخش هایی از ترجمه اش واقعا اذیت کننده بود مثل ضمیر و فعل ها یا یه سری مثال ها که نمیدونم به چه علت انقدر محتاطانه نوشته شده بودند(ساده ترینش:توی مثالی مراجع آقایی هست که از نامزدش جدا شده و تو باید بری تو پانویس بگردی ببینی نوشته پارتنرش مذکره)این رمزی نویسی!چندبار تکرار شده
August 9, 2022
3.5
My issues with psychoanalysis are similar to my issues with a lot of academic theory, which is the overly abstract concepts and insistence on inaccessible terminology. This book does contain a lot of the overly abstract concepts but it also helped me a lot with understanding psychological defense mechanisms. I think I have a firmer idea of what they are and how they may manifest in mental health disorders and the sabotage the maintenance of genuine interpersonal relationships which is exactly what I was looking for (unfortunately having to do a lot of self-learning and reading psych books is cheaper than therapy !!!!)
My issues with psychoanalysis are similar to my issues with a lot of academic theory, which is the overly abstract concepts and insistence on inaccessible terminology. This book does contain a lot of the overly abstract concepts but it also helped me a lot with understanding psychological defense mechanisms. I think I have a firmer idea of what they are and how they may manifest in mental health disorders and the sabotage the maintenance of genuine interpersonal relationships which is exactly what I was looking for (unfortunately having to do a lot of self-learning and reading psych books is cheaper than therapy !!!!)
January 22, 2020
This book is really awesome. I enjoy the psychoanalysis perspective. Blackman was a professor and his students convinced him to write this book. The mind twist of defense mechanisms are fascinating but definitely require some longer thought processing. It took me a while to finish this. You have to take time to incubate some of the content so you can understand and retain it. It definitely feels like a college class read. A super freaking fun class though.
May 5, 2020
Interesanta , placuta pentru ca are exemple , usor de inteles despre ce este vorba. Nu iti schimba viata dar te ajuta sa te intelegi mai bine si chiar sa depasesti daca e cazul . Oricum interesanta si merita citita , clar nu ai nimic de pierdut cu ea
June 27, 2022
O carte foarte utilă pentru cei interesați de mecanismele de apărare pe care le folosim cu toții zi de zi. Descrierea este destul de ușor de înțeles, cu anumite elemente tehnice, întrucât este dedicată în mare parte terapeuților. Lista apărărilor este o comoară, de printat și pus pe perete.
August 8, 2024
Good as a basic book for beginners. My advice to students interested in psychoanalytic treatments is always to start with this book. The method of dividing defenses in this book is based on the process of psychosexual development, which may not be very acceptable in modern approaches.
December 29, 2018
Freudian, pseudo-scientific, anecdote-based recipes for psychoanalysts
January 8, 2024
It identifies and explains the most common 101 defense mechanisms. It's the type of book that you need to do the work, meaning of you identify your own defense mechanism, you have to explore it.
June 26, 2012
An interesting reference. Descriptions aren't deep, but that is not the scope of this book. The book is a good primer and can be used to direct clinician's toward more thorough resources on a given defensive style.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews