Primitive Defense Mechanisms Explained: Sexualization, Dissociation, Acting Out, Withdrawal, Denial, Splitting, Omnipotent Control, Projective Identification (opens in new tab)

In this episode, Dr. David Puder and his talented Cohort deliver a comprehensive exploration of primitive defense mechanisms, which are the earliest, most fundamental ways the mind protects us from overwhelming anxiety, trauma, and threats to the self. Drawing directly from Nancy McWilliams' Psychoanalytic Diagnosis, they break down key primitive defenses. You'll hear clear definitions, developmental origins, clinical presentations, countertransference implications, literary examples, and rea...