Definitions
Blocking out undesirable thoughts/feelings/impulses.
What is repression?
The part of the mind that is inaccessible to conscious knowing.
What is the unconscious?
Geoff has been told by his doctor that he has to quit smoking because he is developing lung problems. Geoff insists that there's nothing wrong and his cough is "just allergies".
What is denial?
Sarah is angry but she is unable to express it. Instead, she accuses her partner of being angry.
In the middle of a tense situation, Louis told a joke that made everyone relax and laugh.
What is humor?
Intolerable emotions/impulses are perceived as coming from someone else.
Projection
Trying to cancel out or make up for something.
What is undoing?
Victoria got yelled at by her boss at work, so she picked a fight with her partner.
What is displacement?
Kevin hates his father-in-law and goes overboard showering him with affection and gifts.
What is reaction formation?
In order to prepare for an upcoming exam, Margie spent time studying and planning for any potential problems that might arise on that day.
What is anticipation?
Taking things out on someone/something other than the person/situation that is distressing.
Displacement
Returning to an earlier developmental stage when stressed.
What is regression?
Upon finding out that she did not get the job she wanted, Jane decided that she would not have liked the job anyway because the commute was too long.
What is rationalization?
When Scott is upset with his partner, he can only see them as bad. When he is happy with his partner, he can only see them as good.
What is splitting?
Ivan was getting angry calls from his brother while he was at work. He decided to turn off his phone and not think about this until later.
What is suppression?
Disconnecting and detaching from awareness of self and present moment.
Turning unacceptable thoughts/feelings/desires into acceptable ones by providing a rationale.
What is rationalization?
Every day when Lee returns home from work, he drinks to try to numb his feelings and detach from everything.
What is dissociation?
After an intense argument with a family member, Joanna spent a lot of time thinking about how and why the argument happened but was unable to feel much emotion associated with the situation.
What is intellectualization?
Pete was very depressed after his mother died. He wrote a song to express his feelings.
What is sublimation?
All-good or all-bad representations of self or others.
What is splitting?
A self-fulfilling prophecy. Believing something false about someone, influences them to eventually act that way.
What is projective identification?
Laura falsely accuses her friend John of intentionally socially excluding her. One day, John decides not to invite Laura to an upcoming picnic.
What is projective identification?
Robert complains to his doctor that his stomach is always hurting. When the doctor offers treatment options, Robert rejects them all saying, "that won't work".
When Elaine was struggling with depression, she reached out to a support group to get help from other people.
What is affiliation?