ABSTRACT
I have taken as my task the limited goal of describing defenses and giving some information about them that can be useful to the practicing clinician. My theoretical orientation involves elements of ego psychology (Hartmann’s, Frosch’s, Bellak’s, and Kernberg’s concepts of ego functions and ego strengths), structural theory (Freud’s third theory1 of drive, superego, and defense), Mahlerbased object relations theory (separation-individuation and its vicissitudes), and modern “conflict theory” (C. Brenner, 2002) regarding compromise formations.
