Relational and defensive patterns

Displacement

Redirecting an affect towards a different target.

Psychodynamic constructClinically reviewed

Defence

Fit, function and alternatives

Test this factor against the case

A contextual factor earns a place in the formulation when case evidence links it to the presentation, not because it is present.

Check alternatives

Do not infer the process from a label, search phrase or diagnosis alone. Assess actual circumstances and source-specific population limits.

Next steps

Elicit case evidence, examine alternatives, discuss the hypothesis with the person, and revise when relevant evidence changes.

Qualification

Require a plausible sequence and alternatives. Temporal proximity alone does not establish redirected emotion.

Caveats for this record

Educational formulation aid, not a diagnostic instrument, score or treatment order.
No generated history, trauma, protective factor, or patient preference may be asserted without case evidence.

Record status

Record type: Psychodynamic construct
Population: Adult-general clinical formulation; apply narrower source population limits
Review: Clinically reviewed

Evidence

S40The Hierarchy of Defense Mechanisms: Assessing Defensive Functioning With the Defense Mechanisms Rating Scales Q-Sort

Frontiers in Psychology · 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.718440 · Full HTML text. Defence hierarchy and construct definitions.

Methods/theory paper by instrument developers, not proof a defence is present in a given patient or that one intervention follows uniquely.

Link withheld: this source remains held and is cited as metadata only.

Evidence references only. Each source's own limitations still apply.

Relational and defensive patterns

Acting out Attachment anxiety / hyperactivation Denial Family/system accommodation Idealisation / devaluation Intellectualisation

Guide modules

Rapid clinical formulation guide Foundations, terminology and evidence limits Practical assessment-to-formulation workflow Risk formulation and management linkage Documentation templates and worked examples

How to use this

Record the case evidence yourself. Nothing here is a patient finding, and no factor becomes a cause because it appears in the formulation.

Relational and defensive patterns

Displacement

Redirecting an affect towards a different target.

Psychodynamic constructClinically reviewed

Defence

Fit, function and alternatives

Test this factor against the case

A contextual factor earns a place in the formulation when case evidence links it to the presentation, not because it is present.

Check alternatives

Do not infer the process from a label, search phrase or diagnosis alone. Assess actual circumstances and source-specific population limits.

Next steps

Elicit case evidence, examine alternatives, discuss the hypothesis with the person, and revise when relevant evidence changes.

Qualification

Require a plausible sequence and alternatives. Temporal proximity alone does not establish redirected emotion.

Caveats for this record

Educational formulation aid, not a diagnostic instrument, score or treatment order.
No generated history, trauma, protective factor, or patient preference may be asserted without case evidence.

Record status

Record type: Psychodynamic construct
Population: Adult-general clinical formulation; apply narrower source population limits
Review: Clinically reviewed

Evidence

S40The Hierarchy of Defense Mechanisms: Assessing Defensive Functioning With the Defense Mechanisms Rating Scales Q-Sort

Frontiers in Psychology · 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.718440 · Full HTML text. Defence hierarchy and construct definitions.

Methods/theory paper by instrument developers, not proof a defence is present in a given patient or that one intervention follows uniquely.

Link withheld: this source remains held and is cited as metadata only.

Evidence references only. Each source's own limitations still apply.

Relational and defensive patterns

Acting out Attachment anxiety / hyperactivation Denial Family/system accommodation Idealisation / devaluation Intellectualisation

Guide modules

How to use this

Record the case evidence yourself. Nothing here is a patient finding, and no factor becomes a cause because it appears in the formulation.