PRIMARY DEFENSES
A person “forgets” an upsetting childhood event and insists it never happened.
What is repression?
A person who dislikes a coworker goes out of their way to be overly friendly to them.
What is reaction formation?
A person channels aggressive impulses into competitive sports.
What is sublimation?
Seeing someone as perfect one day and terrible the next, with no middle ground.
What is splitting?
A client avoids eye contact and changes the topic whenever difficult emotions arise.
What is avoidance (or suppression or denial—depending on context)?
Someone receives a serious diagnosis but continues saying, “No, the doctor is exaggerating.”
What is denial?
“I didn’t get the job, but I didn’t want it anyway.”
What is rationalization?
Someone purposely chooses to not think about a stressful exam until after dinner.
What is suppression?
A client repeatedly says their new therapist is “the best therapist ever.”
What is idealization?
A client insists the therapist must think poorly of them when no such evidence exists.
What is projection?
A client angrily accuses their therapist of being judgmental, even though the therapist has been supportive and neutral.
What is projection?
A client describes their traumatic event with no emotion, focusing only on details and timelines.
What is intellectualization?
A client feels lonely, so they spend the day volunteering to help others.
What is altruism?
Later that week, the same client declares, “You’re terrible—clearly you don’t care.”
What is devaluation?
A client tells a lengthy intellectual explanation during a session to avoid feeling shame.
What is intellectualization?
After being reprimanded by their boss, a client goes home and yells at their partner instead.
What is displacement?
Under stress, a college student throws a tantrum and slams doors like a teenager.
What is regression?
A person makes lighthearted jokes about their fear of aging to cope with their anxiety.
What is humor?
A client accuses the therapist of being angry, then behaves in ways that provoke irritation, confirming their belief.
What is projective identification?
After expressing anger toward the therapist, the client returns the next week bringing a gift.
What is undoing?
A person insists their partner is cheating, even though they themselves have been feeling attracted to someone else.
What is projection?
A man who fears he may be angry at his partner becomes excessively doting and attentive.
What is reaction formation?
An artist expresses deeply painful emotions through creative work that becomes widely admired.
What is sublimation?
A person pushes unwanted feelings into another person, who begins to actually feel and act them out.
What is projective identification?
A client repeatedly reenacts early attachment fears within the therapeutic relationship.
What is transference-based regression (with splitting or projective identification)?