Human Mechanisms of Psychological Defense: Definitions, Historical and Psychodynamic Contexts, Classifications and Clinical Profiles

Abstract

The present work aims to investigate in a schematic and organized way all the main human mechanisms of psychological defense identified in the psychodynamic studies of world history, from Sigmund and Anna Freud to Perry, passing through Klein. The claim is therefore to offer the reader a reasoned analysis of the individual psychological mechanisms that underlie the defense of the ego, as a contact structure with reality. Each mechanism is then investigated in all its components: from levels to areas, from sources to analytical descriptions, complemented by practical examples. Finally, the work ends with a quick examination of the psychodiagnostic tools mainly used to investigate these defenses and with practical applications about the subjective interpretations of reality.