101 Defenses: How the Mind Shields Itself

In this book, Blackman catalogs 101defenses with descriptions practical for use in everyday assessment and treatment of patients. Defenses are mental operations that restore or maintain psychic equilibrium when people feel that they cannot manage emotions that stem form conflict; they remove componenets of unpleasant emotions from conscious awareness. In this book, an overview of defenses covering detection and interpretation preceded each entry, all of which are organized in developmental sequence. An original source reference is included with each definition. Short commentaries that follow each entry discuss general concepts about defenses, how they are used in diagnosis of psychopathology, dynamic techniques for the therapist, differential diagnosis and treatment choice, supportive therapy techniques, and defenses in the assessment of suicide risk. Jerome S. Blackman, MD, PC, 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