Mental Health and the Prevention of Neurosis by Joachim Flescher

The authors argue that instead of adopting the traditional view that defenses are the “enemy” that impedes therapeutic work, it is generally valuable to conceptualize defense mechanisms as “solutions” to specific intrapsychic or interpersonal conflicts. As such, the defenses offer significant clues to understanding the problems that they presumably alleviate. In the therapy group, the goal of uncovering and interpreting defenses is complicated by the complexity of the source of the defensive operations, either emanating from within the individual patient, the group-as-a-whole, or the group therapist's own countertransference. The group leader must be aware of the three dimensions of defense in order to assist the patients in understanding the effects of their defensive style in both gaining and losing what is sought, promoting insight into the historical incidents that led to the particular defenses, and, finally, facilitating the development of more effective defensive structures.