Resource Tag: DEFENSE MECHANISMS (PSYCHOLOGY)

The purpose of this study was to explore the extent to which psychiatric patients who later committed suicide had been excessive drinkers & to find out how this group differed from psychiatric patients who later committed suicide but were not excessive users. From a sample of 100 former psychiatric patients in Helsinki from 1956-1965; 44 […]

It has often been argued that American society denies death as a strategy of dealing with a universal fear of death. This study attempts to determine to what extent young men & women employ this technique in confronting the problems of imminent & distant death, & what attitudinal variables differentiate those confronting & those denying […]

Presents a brief glimpse at the geography and demography, history, and cultural idioms of Lebanon and addresses issues of psychiatric program organization in a developing nation with chronic and acute war conditions. Lebanon has been a sophisticated health care center for almost a century, has an adequate supply of specialized physicians, but lacks support personnel, […]

Ringel’s presuicidal syndrome involves increasing restraint, repressed aggression directed against one’s own person & increasing suicidal fantasies. The author examines various aspects of the psychopathology of this syndrome. Suicidal fantasies are likened to sedative drugs, subject to excesses. The problem of maintaining self-esteem in an already depressed person is discussed. High risk groups, social isolation, […]

A. Camus’ allegorical novel, “The Plague”, provides meaningful insight into the process of death & dying. Camus employs the reactions & responses of a community & its citizenry to an epidemic of the bubonic plague as a symbolic representation of the individuals grappling with death & dying. His main themes are those of separation & […]

The author comments on attitudes toward suicide in Argentina, citing the difficulty experienced by the therapist in overcoming the patient’s denial of the attempt, which reflects cultural attitudes toward self-destructive behavior. (NBB)

The authors describe the problems that occur when a novice therapist works with chronically suicidal patients, many of whom are borderline personalities. Initial idealizations by both the patient & the novice therapist eventually break down. The patient feels the familiar pain of abandonment, & at this point, suicide may again become an option. The authors […]

Investigated is the degree of concern psychiatrists have for research in the area of suicide. During a period of ten years 312 articles were yielded on depression, including 25 on suicide. Manuscripts on suicide are infrequently published, states the author, citing denials & rationalization as defence mechanisms used by clinicians who view suicide as a […]

The authors summarize results of group psychotherapy for suicide attempters, based on 45 sessions with a total of 42 participants. 9 different roles assumed by group members are described. One suicide occurred during the time period of the group sessions; 6 attempted suicide again; 3 of these rejoined the group; 26 of the 42 participants […]

This is a chapter from the author’s book, DEATH AND FAMILY. She shares her personal reflections on grief & separation anxiety, relating her experiences to the theoretical formulations about loss of psychoanalyst Melanie Klein.

Most patients receiving chronic hemodialysis consider withdrawing from it if the “quality of life” available to them &/or their families is not sufficient. It would benefit most patients to openly discuss this option with the staff early in the program, thus making it a legitimate topic for discussion later when they may consider it more […]

The author presents 2 case histories of young female self-mutilaters. He interprets repeated self-cutting as a distorted form of autoerotic activity. Both a defense against autoerotic fixation caused by early deprivation of maternal handling & a disguised expression of it. He feels the symptoms displayed by these patients supports classification of such behavior as an […]

The author explores the risk of suicide among those with mental & physical handicaps. He stresses the importance of acceptance & compassion on the part of those caring for this type of client. This is a summary of a paper presented to the 17th Annual Meeting of the AAS held in Anchorage, Alaska, May 2-5, […]

The author discusses the relationship between cerebral injury & psychopathology, within a psychoanalytical frame of reference. Although the risk of suicide in OBS patients is greatest in the early stages when ego functions are sufficiently intact to act upon self-destructive urges, older patients with advanced disease are also at risk. Suicide may result when physical […]

The author states in order to prevent physical death by suicide & mental death by a psychotic break, the stressed patient must be helped to maintain his basic values until his inadequate coping behaviors can be replaced by more adequate ones that the patient will accept & use. He emphasises the importance of giving the […]

A student nurse describes her experiences with a female patient diagnosed as a sociopathic personality type with reactive depression. Defense mechanisms & manipulative behavior in the form of suicidal threats are illustrated & discussed. (NBB)

A discussion of superstitious belief & the concept of illness. Witchcraft is described as a projection of forbidden impulses & behaviors into external, feared objects. Throughout history, it has been believed that illnesses & abnormalities are caused by “..witches, demons, deceased forefathers, malevolent gods, bad weather, stars, & the moon.” (p.47) The Witch Hammer was […]

The hidden & unconscious factors involved in the People’s Temple Movement, led by the Reverend Jim Jones, are discussed in terms of psychoanalytic psychology, focusing on the concepts of charisma & collective regression. These concepts are applied to the mass madness that engulfed the inhabitants of Jonestowm as they committed mass suicide. The author suggests […]

Feelings of emptiness are a central problem for patients suffering from narcissistic disorders and/or borderline personality dusturbances. In an attempt to avoid this feeling, these patients employ defences to preserve their fragmentary selves. Detachment, exhibitionism, excessive self-concern, self-isolation, negation of other’s humaneness, assumption of a false self & acting out are some common defenses. Feelings […]

This research investigation was undertaken to test the hypothesis that patients returning for psychotherapy following a suicide attempt are a more appropriate group for suicide prevention efforts because of their greater psychopathology & greater inclination toward suicidal behavior. Subjects were 274 such individuals interviewed & treated following attempts. Only 10% had clear expectations that they […]

A panel of physicians discuss care of the terminally ill patient & the moral implications of telling him that his disease will be fatal. The terminal patient is sometimes depressed to the point of being suicidal. However, these patients do not attempt or commit suicide solely because of their illness; often there are underlying causes […]

The author discusses the complexity of suicide states in young people & presents intervention strategies that he feels are appropriate to different categories of adolescent suicide. The presience of learning disabilities among young adolescence is examined. High risk categories of the depressed are also discussed. Intervention, states Peck, must centre on the adolescent’s long-term belief […]

Joining a group or “cult” may offer adolescents a temporary refuge from pressures & conflicts associated with their developmental level. The common objection to a “cult” is the coercive persuasion – brainwashing – used by cult leaders to negate individualism. Wellisch and Ungerleider discuss the developmentally & psychologically destructive aspects of cults, the impairment of […]