Classical Psychoanalytic Model of Defense Mechanisms Flashcards
What is Mechanisms of Defense?
Procedures the ego makes for fulfilling it’s task - of avoiding danger, anxiety and unpleasure.
In what two ways does Classical psychoanalysis view defenses?
- From an intra-psychic perspective, placing conflict at the heart of psychic life.
- Conflict develops between the different agencies of the mind. Adaption is made possible by defenses.
What are defenses and where do they operate?
Behaviors, thoughts or feelings used to avoid psychodynamic conflict operating outside of the realm of consciousness.
What is the purpose of a defense?
- minimize conflict
- reduce tension
- maintain intra psychic equilibrium
- regulate self-esteem
- helps one deal with internal and external sources of anxiety.
What is the primary classical mechanism of defense?
Repression
Define Repression
The pushing back of unacceptable wishes from consciousness.
How does repression effect reality and consciousness?
Ensures that wishes which are incompatible with reality remain unconscious or disguised.
What does “return of the repressed” mean?
The tension and anxiety remains, other defenses surface to alleviate the resulting conflict, reduce tension and stabilize the personality.
What is the cost of repression?
Distorting internal reality.
Define Defense Restructioning
Identifying and giving up on phobic behavior.
Define Affect Restructuring
Helps the patient experience affect without excessive inhibition, and to express it appropriately.
Define Self and Other Restructioning
Changing the view of self and others.
What is an Affect Phobia?
A fear of feeling.
The inhibitory affects (anxieties) centering around assertion.
Internal phobias about feelings.
Develop in the process of growing up.
What are considered the basics of Short Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (STDP)?
Defense Restructuring and Affect Restructuring.
Defense Recognition
helps patients recognize their phobic avoidance of adaptive feeling.
Defense Relinquishing
Giving up the maladaptive response
Affect Experiencing
systematic desensitization: Exposing the patient to the physiological experience of the conflicted affect.
How is STDP different from classical psychoanalysis and long term dynamic psychotherapy?
therapist is not “neutral,” but actively engaged.
What is an Affect?
Emotions and feelings that motivate us or move us to act.
What responses do affects elicit?
Interest, joy, anger, sorrow, fear, shame and contempt.
What is are feelings?
The conscious experience of emotion or affect. Can be outside of conscious awareness.
What are the four most agreed upon Basic Affects?
Sorrow, Anger, Joy, Fear
Sad, Mad, Glad, Fear
What are the 2nd most agreed upon affects?
Excitement Shame Contempt/Disgust Tenderness/Care
What are the 2 groups of Affects?
Activating and inhibitory.
What is a Psychodynamic Conflict
Activating and inhibiting affects are intrapsychic forces pushing in opposite directions.
What are the 3 main steps in Systematic Desensitization (graded exposure)?
- Exposure - Facing the feared stimuli
- Response Prevention - Discouraging maladaptive avoidant response prevention.
- Anxiety Regulation - Decreasing anxiety exposure and response prevention.
Describe “Authentic Functioning”.
Living in the moment and responding deeply and genuinely, but always mindfully of others.
How does the Relational Model see defense mechanisms?
As a protective shield in which the authentic self is held.
Relationally what does a defense mechanism do?
Forms a part of the attempt to help in the development of a “true” or “nuclear” self in the face of a defective relational environment.
How does Bowlby re-frame defenses?
In interpersonal terms based on Attachment Theory.
Coping Mechanisms are aimed at what?
Dealing with problems in the external world. They are conscious and mobilized to deal with external rather than internal threat.
What does the Triangle of Conflict describe?
The mechanism of phobic avoidance of feelings.
What are the 3 poles of the Triangle of Conflict?
Feelings (F) - Adaptive Feelings/Activation
Defense (D) - Behaviors, Thoughts and Feelings.
Anxiety/Inhibition (A) - Anxiety,Guilt, Shame, Pain
What does the Triangle of Persons represent?
Where Affect Phobias occur.
What are the 3 poles of the Triangle of Persons?
Past Person (P) - with whom the Affect Phobia originated Current Person )C) - with whom the Affect Phobia is maintained Therapist (T) - with whom the Affect Phobia can be examined
What is Self and Other-Restructuring?
Helping the patient improve relationships and gain positive feelings toward the self.
How does Alexander and French define the Corrective Emotional Experience?
“Reexperiencing the old, unsettled conflict but with a new ending.”
What are the 2 components of Defense Restructuring?
Defense Recognition: Seeing the problematic behavior.
Defense Relinquishing: Wanting to stop.
What are the 2 components of Affect Restructuring?
Affect Experiencing: Feeling the avoided or phobic feeling.
Affect Expression: Learning to express the feeling appropriately.
What are the 2 components of Self and Other-Restructuring?
Self Restructuring: Improving self-image and building self-care.
Other Restructuring: Building more adaptive perceptions of and connections to others.
