Transtheoretical, transdiagnostic, and empirical-based understanding of defense mechanisms

Mariagrazia Di Giuseppe

Abstract


Thirty years after the inclusion of an axis defense mechanisms in the DSM-IV (American Psychiatric Association, 1994), recently included in the M axis of the PDM-2 (Lingiardi & McWilliams, 2017), the original description of the psychoanalytic construct appears partial and incomplete (Di Giuseppe et al., 2021; Metzger, 2014). Like many aspects of mental functioning, the understanding of defense mechanisms has influenced and has been influenced by empirical research (Cramer, 2006; 2015; Fiorentino et al., 2024; Liotti et al., 2023; Maffei et al., 1995; Perry, 1990; 2014; Vaillant, 1971; 1992), significantly changing the way we look at the construct in the broader perspective of psychological functioning (Cramer, 2000; Di Giuseppe & Conversano, 2022; Di Giuseppe & Lingiardi, 2023; Vaillant, 2000). In this regard, it is useful to clarify how defense mechanisms are nowadays defined, considered, analyzed, and assessed, and by which professionals and in which fields of study defenses can be applied.


In the present article, new facets of the defense mechanism construct will be described, such as its transtheoretical and transdiagnostic application, which mark relevant advance in the empirical research of defense mechanisms. The gold-standard theory of defenses will also be described, with reference to its new empirical techniques which finally allow its application in various areas of clinical research.

Keywords


Defense mechanisms; DMRS; Emotion regulation; Assessment; Clinical psychology.

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References


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DOI: https://doi.org/10.13129/2282-1619/mjcp-4036

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