ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the concepts involved in the mechanisms of defense, provides a working definition of defense and resistance, and outlines a detailed schema for the conceptualization and handling of these dynamic forces within the treatment setting. The ego refers to that aspect of psychic functioning responsible for the observation of and mediation between internal wishes, feelings, and impulses clamoring for expression and the need to control the expression of these "instincts" in accordance with external constraints. Most analytically oriented therapists have followed S. Freud's lead, developing a whole rationale for continuing in this slow, gentle manner based on assumptions about the inflexibility of defenses and the fragility of most patients. The lack of activity on the part of the therapist and the paucity of specific techniques for overcoming the resistance lead to protracted treatments of dubious value, reinforcing the notion that resistances are intractable.
