Increasing Mentalization to Reduce Maladaptive Defense in Patients With Mental Disorders

Background: There are indications of associations between the ability to mentalize and psychological defense mechanisms. However, only a few studies have focused on these associations, and even fewer have included empirical analyses. In the present study, we aimed to fill this research gap by analyzing the link between the ability to mentalize and psychological defense mechanisms in patients with mental disorders. We examined whether changes in defense mechanisms are predicted by an increase in mentalization or whether such changes are only related to reductions in psychopathology and interpersonal problems.Methods: A clinical sample of N = 89 patients was studied during and after inpatient psychiatric rehabilitation. Repeated-measures analyses of variance were performed to determine changes in mentalization, psychological defense, psychopathology, and interpersonal problems over the course of therapy and post-treatment. Linear regression analyses were used to predict the change in defense patterns based on an increase in mentalization.Results: Maladaptive defense mechanisms were significantly reduced during inpatient therapy and remained low until follow-up, whereas neurotic and adaptive defense mechanisms did not change significantly. The results of the regression analyses indicated that mentalization played an important role in the reduction in maladaptive defense during and after inpatient rehabilitation for mental disorders, whereas reductions in psychopathology and interpersonal distress were only partially associated with a reduction in maladaptive defense.Conclusion: We conclude that mentalization is vital for reducing maladaptive defense mechanisms, which are commonly associated with mental disorders. In therapy, an increase in patients' capacity to mentalize may be a practicable approach to diminish maladaptive defense mechanisms.

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Investigating Attachment Insecurity and Somatosensory Amplification, and the Mediating Role of Interpersonal Problems

European Journal of Health Psychology ◽

10.1027/2512-8442/a000078 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-11

Author(s):

David Kealy ◽

Simon M. Rice ◽

Gabrielle B. Chartier ◽

Daniel W. Cox

Keyword(s):

Clinical Sample ◽

Interpersonal Problems ◽

Interpersonal Sensitivity ◽

Attachment Anxiety ◽

Mediating Effect ◽

Regression Analyses ◽

Attachment Insecurity ◽

Mediating Role ◽

Somatosensory Amplification

Abstract. Background: Somatosensory amplification involves perceptual sensitivity to and cognitive-affective interpretation of bodily sensations and external stimuli, contributing to heightened experiences of somatic symptoms. However, little is known about somatosensory amplification in relation to vulnerabilities such as attachment insecurity. Aims: The present study investigated the link between attachment insecurity and somatosensory amplification, including the mediating role of dysfunctional interpersonal behaviors. Method: A sample of 245 adult community members completed the Somatosensory Amplification Scale, Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale, and abbreviated versions of the Experiences in Close Relationships scale and Inventory of Interpersonal Problems. Correlational and regression analyses were used to examine relations among study variables, including a hypothesized parallel mediation model. Results: Somatosensory amplification was significantly associated with attachment anxiety, but not attachment avoidance. Regression analyses, controlling for general anxiety symptoms and gender, found that interpersonal sensitivity (but not aggression or ambivalence) mediated the link between attachment anxiety and somatosensory amplification. Limitations: Study limitations include the use of cross-sectional data and a non-clinical sample. Conclusion: The findings indicate that somatosensory amplification may be related to individuals’ attachment anxiety, through the mediating effect of interpersonal sensitivity problems.

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Depersonalization and psychosensory disorders amongst young people who do not seek psychiatric help appeal for psychiatrysts (prevalence, clinical features and classification)

I P Pavlov Russian Medical Biological Herald ◽

10.23888/pavlovj2018170-85 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 26 (1) ◽

pp. 70-85

Author(s):

V. V. Ruzhenkova ◽

V. A. Ruzhenkov ◽

A. A. Bykova ◽

M. A. Kolosova

Keyword(s):

Young People ◽

Mental Disorders ◽

Defense Mechanisms ◽

Single Point ◽

Point Of View ◽

Anxiety And Depression ◽

Healthy Population ◽

Self Awareness ◽

Gender Preference ◽

Psychological Defense

The importance of this study is justified by the high occurance frequency of this phenomenon amongst young people in the clinical structure of mental disorders and as well as in the framework of psychological defense mechanisms in psychiatrically healthy population. The question of the limits of depersonalization remains unresolved, as there is no single point of view regarding the syndromological affiliation, rendering it ambiguous to evaluate it as a productive or negative disorder. Aim. This study was aimed at verifying the prevalence and clinical structure of depersonalization symptoms amongst young people. Materials and Methods. A continuous sample consisting of 96 medical students – 68 (71%) female and 28 (29%) male, from 18 to 23 (19±1.2) years was studied using medico-social, clinico-psychopathological, psychometric and statistical methods. Results. Depersonalization symptoms were found amongst 94% of respondents. Different forms of autopsychic depersonalization were identified in the different psyche spheres – effector-volitional sphere, thinking and self-awareness (except the depersonalization in emotional sphere – «pathological insensitivity», which were previously identified). The validity of their separation was confirmed by cluster analysis. Along with depersonalization disorders, in more than half of the cases, a variety of psychosensory disorders were observed. Conclusions. Depersonalization phenomena along with various psychosensory disorders are widespread amongst adolescents without obvious mental disorders or gender preference. Therapy is useful if depersonalization obstructs social functioning and coupled with anxiety and depression.

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An Exploration of the Relationship between Interpersonal Problems and Psychological Health

Psychological Reports ◽

10.2466/pr0.1995.76.3.947 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 76 (3) ◽

pp. 947-956 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Michael Sheffield ◽

James Carey ◽

William Patenaude ◽

Michael J. Lambert

Keyword(s):

Psychological Health ◽

Clinical Sample ◽

Interpersonal Problems ◽

Interpersonal Closeness ◽

Personal Orientation Inventory ◽

Interpersonal Distress ◽

Inventory Of Interpersonal Problems ◽

Self Actualization ◽

The Mean ◽

The Relationship

The relationship between interpersonal distress and psychological health was investigated using a sample of 185 college undergraduates. Subjects completed the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (a measure of interpersonal distress), the Personal Orientation Inventory (a measure of self-actualization), and the Miller Social Intimacy Scale (a measure of interpersonal closeness). The mean of scores on the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems was compared with the mean of the clinical sample reported in 1988 by Horowitz, et al. The measures of psychological health were correlated with the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems total and with the octant scales of the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems-Circumplex version. The measures were also projected onto the circumplex to summarize their interpersonal connotations.

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Depersonalization and psychosensory disorders amongst young people who do not seek psychiatric help appeal for psychiatrysts (prevalence, clinical features and classification)

I P Pavlov Russian Medical Biological Herald ◽

10.23888/pavlovj201826170-85 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 26 (1) ◽

pp. 70-85

Author(s):

V. V. Ruzhenkova ◽

V. A. Ruzhenkov ◽

A. A. Bykova ◽

M. A. Kolosova

Keyword(s):

Young People ◽

Mental Disorders ◽

Defense Mechanisms ◽

Single Point ◽

Point Of View ◽

Anxiety And Depression ◽

Healthy Population ◽

Self Awareness ◽

Gender Preference ◽

Psychological Defense

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A Study of Memory and Psychological Defense Mechanism in Julian Barnes’s The Sense of an Ending

International Journal of Linguistics Literature & Translation ◽

10.32996/ijllt.2019.2.4.28 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Hossein Aliakbari Harehdasht ◽

Zahra Ekbatäni

Keyword(s):

Defense Mechanisms ◽

Defense Mechanism ◽

Human Mind ◽

The Novel ◽

Psychological Defense ◽

Julian Barnes ◽

Self Image

In The Sense of an Ending, Julian Barnes portrays the mysterious workings of the human mind as it distorts facts towards the end of a self-image that one can live with. The protagonist in the novel deploys certain psychological defense mechanisms in order to protect himself from feelings of anxiety, only to experience even more profound anxiety due to his excessive use of them. The significance of the present paper lies in its novel view of the book. So far, the critique on the novel has mainly been focused on the workings of time on memory; however, the present paper investigates how psychological defense mechanisms blur the protagonist’s perception of reality and distort his memories. This paper also attempts to attract scholarly interest in the study of psychological defense mechanisms in the study of The Sense of an Ending which has so far been to the best of our knowledge overlooked

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Model of correlation between anticipatory consistency and intuitiveness in the development of neuroses

Vestnik nevrologii, psihiatrii i nejrohirurgii (Bulletin of Neurology, Psychiatry and Neurosurgery) ◽

10.33920/med-01-2002-04 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 31-36

Author(s):

Alexander Granitsa

Keyword(s):

Significant Role ◽

Defense Mechanisms ◽

Somatoform Disorders ◽

General System ◽

Healthy People ◽

Coping With Stress ◽

Psychological Defense ◽

Cluster Analyses ◽

Neurotic Disorders

The aim of the study was to form the model of correlation between intuitiveness and anticipatory consistency in case of neurotic and somatoform disorders. The study included 197 patients with neurotic and somatoform disorders and 66 healthy people. We found a lower level of intuitiveness and anticipatory consistency in patients with neurotic disorders than in healthy people. Correlation and cluster analyses have shown that anticipatory inconsistency and a reduced intuitiveness play a significant role in the mechanisms of neurosis development. Intuitiveness in neurotic and somatoform disorders is the link between anticipatory consistency and psychological defense mechanisms in the general system of coping with stress.

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The Management of Elderly Prisoners in France

The Prison Journal ◽

10.1177/0032885519875029 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 99 (5) ◽

pp. 559-571

Author(s):

Nicolas Combalbert ◽

Cecile Rambourg

Keyword(s):

Mental Disorders ◽

Social Workers ◽

Defense Mechanisms ◽

Probation Officers ◽

Professional Practices ◽

Prison Staff ◽

Age Related

Very few studies have examined the mental disorders of elderly prisoners and the difficulties related to their management. For this study, 40 prison workers were interviewed (custodial staff, social workers, and probation officers) to assess staff professional practices and approaches in managing elderly inmates. Findings showed highly ambivalent attitudes to the age-related vulnerabilities of elderly incarcerees, at both emotional and professional levels. Staff attempts to make the incarcerated elderly conform to some four traditional images of the prisoner roles (enemy/citizen/threat/user) may lead some prison staff to use emotional defense mechanisms.

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