Foundations of Mental Health Care
Compensation ANS:Attempt to Overcome Feelings of Inferiority or Make up for Deficiency, Example: A
girl thinks she cannot sing studies to become an expert pianist; Nurse with low self-esteem working
double shifts so her supervisor will like her
Covering Up a Lack or Weakness by Emphasizing a Desirable Trait, or Making up for a Frustration in one
are by Overemphasis in Another area. Learned early in Childhood and may be Recognized in Adult
Behavior ANS:Compensation, Example: The Physically Handicapped Individual who is an Outstanding
Scholar, Chuck is awkward in sports activities and puts his energies into being an honor student
Conversion ANS:Channeling of Unbearable Anxieties into Body Signs and Symptoms, Example: A boy
who injured an animal by kicking it develops a painful limp
Denial ANS:REFUSAL to Acknowledge Conflict and thus Escapes Reality of Situation, Example: A child
covered with chocolate refuses to admit eating candy
REFUSAL to Face Reality. The Ego Protects itself from Unpleasant pain or conflict by Rejecting Obvious
Facts or Truth. ANS:Denial, Example: A Person Not seeing a Doctor because he does not want to know
the truth, Helen is Unable to face the reality that she has a terminal illness
Displacement ANS:Redirecting of Energies to Another Person or Object, Example: A Husband shouts at
his wife; the wife then berates her child, who then scolds the dog, Bob took out his on the job
frustrations on his wife and children
Discharging Pent-up Feelings from one object to a Less Dangerous object ANS:Displacement, Example:
Your Supervisor yells at you and you yell at your husband
Dissociation ANS:Separation of Emotions from Situation; Isolation of Painful Anxieties, Example: A
soldier casually describes the battle in which he lost his legs
Fantasy ANS:Distortion of Unacceptable Wishes, Behaviors;
Example: A teenager doing poorly in school daydreams about owning a private jet airplane
Gratification by Imaginary Achievements and Wishful Thinking ANS:Fantasy, Example: Children's play
Identification ANS:Taking on of Personal Characteristics of ADMIRED Person to Conceal Own Feelings of
Inadequacy;
Example: Teenage adolescents dress and behave like the members of a popular singing group
Assumption of Desirable Personality Attributes of one ADMIRED. Satisfaction can be derived from
assuming the success or the experience of others ANS:Identification, Example: Nurse who Feels Sick
, Watching a Traumatic Procedure on her Patient, Lynn says NO to Cocaine, having Adopted her parents'
Values Rejecting the Use of drugs
Intellectualization ANS:Focusing of Attention on Technical or Logical Aspects of Threatening Situation;
Example: A wife describes the details of nurses unsuccessful attempts to prevent the death of her
husband
Isolation ANS:Separation of Feelings from Content to Cope Unemotionally with Topics that would
normally be Overwhelming; Example: A soldier humorously describes how he was seriously wounded in
combat
Walling off of certain ideas, attitudes, or feelings. Separating the feelings from the intellect, by putting
our emotions concerning a specific traumatic event into an isolated compartment; This pattern can be
positive if used temporarily to keep the ego from being overwhelmed. ANS:Isolation, Example: The
Individual talks about a significant situation such as an accident or death without a display of feelings;
Six months after the Death of his Son, Jeff could discuss it Without Experiencing Earlier Painful Feelings
Projection ANS:Putting of one's own unacceptable thoughts, wishes, emotions onto others;
Example: A woman is afraid to leave her house because she knows people will ridicule her
Attribution of one's own Undesirable traits to someone else. ANS:Projection, Example: The child who
says to a parent, "You hate me," after the parent has spanked the child. In an adult, this technique may
be a predominant indicator of paranoia; Luther Blames his Wife's Frigidity for his own Infidelity
Rationalization ANS:Use of a "good" but not real reason to explain behavior to make unacceptable
motivation more acceptable;
Example: A student justifies failing an examination by saying that there was too much material to cover
The attempt that is Almost Universally Employed to prove or justify behavior. It is face saving to give a
reason that is acceptable rather than the real reason ANS:Rationalization, Example: "It wasn't worth it
anyway", "It's all for the best", This Mechanism relieves anxiety temporarily and helps the person avoid
facing reality; Bea feels avoids dating by saying she prefers to sit and watch TV alone
Reaction formation ANS:Prevention of expression of threatening material by engaging in behaviors that
are directly opposite to repressed material; Example: A young man with homosexual feelings, which he
finds to be threatening, engages in excessive heterosexual activities
Prevention of Dangerous Feelings and Desires from being expressed by exaggerating the opposite
attitude-a kind of denial. ANS:Reaction-Formation, Example: The overly Neat, Polite, conscientious
individual may have an unconscious desire to be Untidy and Carefree; Although Dick was Overly Polite,
always smiling and joking, his humor was Sarcastic and Hostile
Regression ANS:Coping with present conflict, stress by returning to earlier, more secure stage of life;
Compensation ANS:Attempt to Overcome Feelings of Inferiority or Make up for Deficiency, Example: A
girl thinks she cannot sing studies to become an expert pianist; Nurse with low self-esteem working
double shifts so her supervisor will like her
Covering Up a Lack or Weakness by Emphasizing a Desirable Trait, or Making up for a Frustration in one
are by Overemphasis in Another area. Learned early in Childhood and may be Recognized in Adult
Behavior ANS:Compensation, Example: The Physically Handicapped Individual who is an Outstanding
Scholar, Chuck is awkward in sports activities and puts his energies into being an honor student
Conversion ANS:Channeling of Unbearable Anxieties into Body Signs and Symptoms, Example: A boy
who injured an animal by kicking it develops a painful limp
Denial ANS:REFUSAL to Acknowledge Conflict and thus Escapes Reality of Situation, Example: A child
covered with chocolate refuses to admit eating candy
REFUSAL to Face Reality. The Ego Protects itself from Unpleasant pain or conflict by Rejecting Obvious
Facts or Truth. ANS:Denial, Example: A Person Not seeing a Doctor because he does not want to know
the truth, Helen is Unable to face the reality that she has a terminal illness
Displacement ANS:Redirecting of Energies to Another Person or Object, Example: A Husband shouts at
his wife; the wife then berates her child, who then scolds the dog, Bob took out his on the job
frustrations on his wife and children
Discharging Pent-up Feelings from one object to a Less Dangerous object ANS:Displacement, Example:
Your Supervisor yells at you and you yell at your husband
Dissociation ANS:Separation of Emotions from Situation; Isolation of Painful Anxieties, Example: A
soldier casually describes the battle in which he lost his legs
Fantasy ANS:Distortion of Unacceptable Wishes, Behaviors;
Example: A teenager doing poorly in school daydreams about owning a private jet airplane
Gratification by Imaginary Achievements and Wishful Thinking ANS:Fantasy, Example: Children's play
Identification ANS:Taking on of Personal Characteristics of ADMIRED Person to Conceal Own Feelings of
Inadequacy;
Example: Teenage adolescents dress and behave like the members of a popular singing group
Assumption of Desirable Personality Attributes of one ADMIRED. Satisfaction can be derived from
assuming the success or the experience of others ANS:Identification, Example: Nurse who Feels Sick
, Watching a Traumatic Procedure on her Patient, Lynn says NO to Cocaine, having Adopted her parents'
Values Rejecting the Use of drugs
Intellectualization ANS:Focusing of Attention on Technical or Logical Aspects of Threatening Situation;
Example: A wife describes the details of nurses unsuccessful attempts to prevent the death of her
husband
Isolation ANS:Separation of Feelings from Content to Cope Unemotionally with Topics that would
normally be Overwhelming; Example: A soldier humorously describes how he was seriously wounded in
combat
Walling off of certain ideas, attitudes, or feelings. Separating the feelings from the intellect, by putting
our emotions concerning a specific traumatic event into an isolated compartment; This pattern can be
positive if used temporarily to keep the ego from being overwhelmed. ANS:Isolation, Example: The
Individual talks about a significant situation such as an accident or death without a display of feelings;
Six months after the Death of his Son, Jeff could discuss it Without Experiencing Earlier Painful Feelings
Projection ANS:Putting of one's own unacceptable thoughts, wishes, emotions onto others;
Example: A woman is afraid to leave her house because she knows people will ridicule her
Attribution of one's own Undesirable traits to someone else. ANS:Projection, Example: The child who
says to a parent, "You hate me," after the parent has spanked the child. In an adult, this technique may
be a predominant indicator of paranoia; Luther Blames his Wife's Frigidity for his own Infidelity
Rationalization ANS:Use of a "good" but not real reason to explain behavior to make unacceptable
motivation more acceptable;
Example: A student justifies failing an examination by saying that there was too much material to cover
The attempt that is Almost Universally Employed to prove or justify behavior. It is face saving to give a
reason that is acceptable rather than the real reason ANS:Rationalization, Example: "It wasn't worth it
anyway", "It's all for the best", This Mechanism relieves anxiety temporarily and helps the person avoid
facing reality; Bea feels avoids dating by saying she prefers to sit and watch TV alone
Reaction formation ANS:Prevention of expression of threatening material by engaging in behaviors that
are directly opposite to repressed material; Example: A young man with homosexual feelings, which he
finds to be threatening, engages in excessive heterosexual activities
Prevention of Dangerous Feelings and Desires from being expressed by exaggerating the opposite
attitude-a kind of denial. ANS:Reaction-Formation, Example: The overly Neat, Polite, conscientious
individual may have an unconscious desire to be Untidy and Carefree; Although Dick was Overly Polite,
always smiling and joking, his humor was Sarcastic and Hostile
Regression ANS:Coping with present conflict, stress by returning to earlier, more secure stage of life;
