ABSTRACT
Defence mechanisms are sophisticated human responses to threats, which are used to control life and render it safe. In groups, these protective mechanisms abound and one of the difficulties for facilitators is that we never quite know which issue will trigger which defences for each person. An awareness of what some of the defence patterns are, and what may lie behind them, is very useful and will give us some indication of what is going on. Popular forms of defensive patterns in groups can be defined by looking at common fight/flight patterns for groups and individuals. Flight patterns can be seen in nervous humour, excessive gossip, withdrawal from participation in the group, rationalization and intellectualization, which helps individuals stay away from their feelings by talking about them instead of expressing them. Group flighting is behaviour which lets us know that group members are protecting themselves from deeper involvement.
