What is internal psychological resistance and what to do with it? Psychological defenses and resistance.

Freud's great role in psychological science lies in the fact that he was the first to talk about the role of the unconscious in the human psyche. Before him, the idea that a person might not know something about himself seemed like a strange heresy; now it is the cornerstone of psychotherapy. But the assessment of this role has stepped far forward since the time of Freud. It is easy to guess that protection is, in general, a positive phenomenon: an umbrella protects us from rain, clothes from the cold, insurance of bank deposits from bankruptcy. Psychological defense protects us from mental pain - and in the optimal situation there is nothing bad but good about it.

Sometimes, of course, it happens that you have opened up, and then instead of closeness, a projectile flies into your soul. Then, of course, it hurts. However, again, nothing fatal, the human psyche is mobile and capable of recovery: if a person throws the shell fragments out of his soul, then his mental wound will heal, and his soul will become whole and cheerful again. But that’s if he throws it away.

This “throwing away the remains of the projectile” is scientifically called responding to a psychologically traumatic situation. In my metaphor, it looks like an explosion - the soul hurts, and the person explodes: he screams, cries, is desperately indignant, stomps his feet and throws cups at the wall... And, as soon as all the consequences of the injury have been reacted, the healing process of healing begins by itself. This is a biologically normal process.

But we are not only biological creatures! We are social creatures. Have you seen many citizens breaking through walls with cups? That's it. Metaphorically speaking, our “armor” often collapses before the explosion can occur. And all the shell fragments remain inside. What happens when a fragment wanders inside? - inflammation. It still hurts inside, but we don’t feel it, because this internal pain They are protected by the same steel armor. In academic psychology, by the way, this process is called very similarly: containment. They hid and forgot. We don't feel it.

But if only there was only one fragment! And over the course of a lifetime they accumulate - don’t worry, mother... And you have to keep building up and building up the layer of steel on the protections so as not to feel this terrible pain, which is why they move worse and worse, and at some point they stop opening altogether - and the person loses an acute sense of beauty, ceases to experience sympathy, tenderness, love and the childish joy of being... in general, “the soul becomes hardened.” And the inflammation inside keeps growing and growing, and at some point even the maximum power of the defenses can’t save you – a certain dull pain penetrates your consciousness: it’s not clear what it’s about, it’s not clear why, it’s just that everything is somehow gray, dull, and you want to hang yourself. Hello, depression disease!

Some, however, layer other protections on top - no longer steel, steel is nowhere to be found, but some other kind. There are some phobias, obsessions, panic attacks, all sorts of rituals - well, at least something to take your mind off this incomprehensible mental pain. And sometimes there is no special mental pain, it’s just that psychosomatics dawns in full bloom: either it seizes the throat, then the heart, or the stomach ulcer rages...

In principle, this all indicates one thing: the psychological container has overflowed, it’s time to empty it. If you are a person of exceptional awareness, then you can do this yourself by analyzing your reactions, exploring your own unconscious, and allowing repressed feelings to come out somewhere safe. In other cases, with similar problems, your choice is psychotherapy.

What is psychotherapy?

Speaking, again, metaphorically, during psychotherapy you need to open up these rusty armor and throw out all those fragments of old shells that are wandering in your soul. And, of course, reconsider the usual patterns of behavior - perhaps it’s worth changing something in them so that in the future the fragments do not get stuck unreacted?

This is not an instant process.

It takes some time (up to 18 months) to develop new behavior after working through trauma. Fortunately, there is no need to communicate with a psychotherapist all this time; you can work on yourself on your own: a psychotherapist is needed, first of all, to help find those places in the soul where fragments of trauma are stuck, in other words, those areas of the unconscious where internal conflict - and pull this pain out of there “by the ear and into the sun”; throw it out. Then it still heals on its own, at its own pace, and even nine therapists will not speed up the process, just as nine women are not able to bear a child in one month.

But there is an important caveat here - “after working through the injuries.” How long it will take until the injury is not even worked through, but is simply discovered, depends precisely on the strength of those same defenses. It depends on how ready the client is to look into his unconscious and feel this pain... But he, usually, is not very ready: he has defenses! Unconscious avoidance is pain itself. Do you like it when people poke your fingers into an old fragment? - Well, that’s it... so he pulls away. Involuntarily. We are all human.

In classical psychotherapy, such defenses are already called resistance, and are regarded very negatively: well, like a saboteur, he doesn’t want to face his own pain, although the psychotherapist is standing here, beating with his leg, an ax in his hand, bandages at the ready...

This position is not close to me; moreover, it seems to be a consequence of the therapist’s own personal problems, entangled in the Karpman triangle: the desire to drive a person to happiness with an iron hand is perceived by me as a sign of neurosis. I, like those Buddhists, believe that “everything in the world is already perfect” and I try not to succumb to the excitement of quickly fixing everything, everything, everything that has been accumulating all my life - although, of course, sometimes it can be difficult not to succumb to the excitement, because I am also alive Human. The client’s resistance in this sense is a useful factor, because it is sobering: it means that this is his process, which he needs for some reason. Let it be: maybe there are traumas inside him of such depth and intensity that I cannot even imagine? Why go there with an ax? The time will come - the client will climb in there himself and react to everything.

After all, strong resistance is a sign of strong defenses; and have strong defenses– this is good, but not bad at all. Psychotherapy, let’s not forget, is only a short stage in the life of any person - and he will continue to live with the protections that he has; and it would be better if they were stronger... and the resistance would sooner or later dissolve, one way or another: no one has ever resisted forever.

Of all the modalities of psychotherapy, only the process-oriented one supports my approach.

And although we do not love her for this (c) - such a coincidence with my own thoughts cannot but rejoice.

NON-GOVERNMENTAL EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION

MOSCOW INSTITUTE OF ANALYTICAL PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHOANALYSIS

COURSE WORK

Subject: Concepts of modern psychoanalysis, psychoanalytic and group psychotherapy

On the topic: The concept of resistance and working with it

Introduction

1 Definition of resistance

2 Forms of manifestation of resistance

3 Functions of resistance and its mechanism

4 Transference and resistance

1 Preliminary notes

Conclusion

Introduction

Psychotherapy is an activity aimed at ridding a person of various problems (emotional, personal, social, etc.). During treatment, the patient must “open up” to the therapist. By “opening up,” he tells the psychotherapist everything he knows about himself and how he defines himself.

Each person has a certain idea about himself. He has been collecting this information all his life, and it is extremely important to him. It often happens that the more important a source of information is to our existence, the more stubbornly we resist having it changed or questioned. When a patient comes to a psychotherapist, he wants to change his life by changing his self-image. But as he recovers, he resists treatment. This happens because the patient's treatment causes him to feel the greatest threat - re-experiencing traumatic moments from his life. And in the end, it turns out that the patient, coming to see a psychotherapist, hopes to receive help, but he himself rejects it.

The object of study of this work is the client’s resistance, and the subject is the analysis of working with resistance.

The purpose of the study is to reveal the concept of resistance and analyze methods of working with it. The purpose of the study determines the formulation of the following tasks:

Expanding the concept of resistance

Consideration of the main forms of manifestation of resistance

Considering ways to work with resistance

When writing the work, the following sources of information were used: textbooks and teaching aids, the World Wide Web.

The work consists of two parts: the first part reveals theoretical material. This part describes in detail the basic concepts, functions and forms of manifestation of resistance.

The second part consists of an analysis of working with resistance and recommendations for analysis.

Chapter 1. The concept of resistance

1.1 Definition of resistance

Resistance is a force that produces repression and maintains it by opposing the transition of ideas from the unconscious to consciousness. This is a life-preserving impulse, although it is not subject to conscious control.

The prerequisite for the existence of a symptom is that some mental process has not occurred completely in the normal way, so that it has failed to become conscious. The symptom is a substitute for what has not come to fruition. Strong resistance is aimed at preventing the above-mentioned mental process from penetrating into consciousness. Also during treatment, resistance prevents this process from being transferred from the unconscious to consciousness. The process that manifests itself in the form of resistance is called repression.

In life, resistance manifests itself in various forms of neuroses, phobias, and erroneous actions (such as forgetting, losing sight). It can be conscious, preconscious and unconscious, it can cause in us the need to be pleasant, to argue, to be embarrassed, to be passive, to have no desires and needs, etc.

In psychotherapy, resistance occurs when material is allowed into consciousness that the client avoids encountering in every possible way. This force blocks the patient's interest in recovery. When we try to help a patient, he himself, without realizing it, offers us fierce resistance that lasts throughout the entire treatment. The patient may challenge and reject the therapist's interpretations, distance himself from him, try not to get involved in the treatment process, etc. It may manifest itself in such a way that the client will talk about himself, as if reporting about himself, rather than sincerely talking about his being. In this way, the patient will avoid introducing his own subjectivity into the therapeutic work. The closer the therapist comes to unconscious processes, the more intense the resistance becomes.

The discovery of the phenomenon of resistance belongs to S. Freud. He was the first to perceive resistance as a separate element of the psyche and accepted it as a central part of psychoanalytic work. He first uses the term “resistance” in describing the case of Elisabeth von R., whom he treated in 1892. He believed that the patient was trying to drive away some ideas from himself and that the strength of resistance corresponded to the amount of energy that the ideas expended trying to penetrate consciousness.

Freud and Breuer first practiced psychotherapy using hypnosis. Freud then began to notice that the results of the treatment were inconsistent and did not last long. Then he realized that using hypnosis it was impossible to understand the dynamics of these failures. The state of hypnosis did not allow us to notice the existence of resistance. It pushed resistance into the background, freeing up a certain area for analytical work and focusing it on the boundaries of this area so that it became irresistible. Therefore, Freud argues that true psychoanalysis began with the refusal of hypnosis.

The therapist's job is to overcome resistance, and he does this in such a way that he insists that the patient tell everything that comes to his mind, even if it embarrasses him.

Resistance is not only an obstacle to treatment, but also an important source of information about the functioning of the ego as a whole. Defenses that manifest themselves as resistances during treatment perform important functions for the patient in his external life.

1.2 Forms of manifestation of resistance

This chapter will examine the most typical examples of resistance that appear during psychotherapy. Resistance is extremely diverse, difficult to recognize and constantly changes the form of its manifestation. Single, isolated examples are not the rule. If the patient opens up clearly to the therapist, this does not mean that resistance has stopped working. For example, a patient may vividly describe some aggressive activity in a session in order to recount experiences that may indicate that he is faced with sexual temptation.

Here are a few clinical manifestations resistance.

The patient is silent.

The most outspoken and common form resistance. This means that the patient is not inclined to talk about his feelings. He may be aware of his reluctance or may feel that he has nothing in his head to tell the therapist.

In this case, the therapist’s task is to analyze the reasons for the patient’s silence. It is necessary to reveal the motives for opposing the psychotherapeutic procedure.

Sometimes, despite silence, the patient may reveal the motive or even the content of his silence by his behavior. Turning your head away, avoiding your gaze, covering your eyes with your hands, crouching on the couch, or blushing on your face can indicate confusion. If, for example, the patient takes off her wedding ring finger and then threads her little finger through it several times, it should be thought that, despite her silence, the patient is confused by thoughts about sexuality or adultery. Her silence shows that she is not yet aware of those impulses and the struggle that occurs between the urge to reveal and the counteracting impulse to hide her feelings.

Silence does not always indicate the presence of resistance. For example, silence may be a repetition of an event that happened in the past, where silence played an important role, and may reflect a reaction to what was happening. Thus, silence acts not only as resistance, but also as the content of part of the experience. But in most cases, silence acts as resistance.

The patient “does not feel able to tell.”

This situation is similar to the previous one. But here the patient is not completely silent, but simply feels unable to tell. The therapist’s task is the same: to find out the reason for the inability to tell.

Affects that are a sign of resistance.

It happens that the patient communicates something to the client verbally, but there are no affects. His remarks are dry, boring and monotonous. It is as if the patient is not at all touched by what he is talking about. This disparity of affect indicates resistance.

Patient's posture.

Very often, the patient's posture during therapy can indicate resistance. Rigidity, stiffness, and twistedness may indicate protection. Also, if the patient does not behave naturally, for example, does not change the position throughout the entire session or, on the contrary, changes it too often, this is a sign of resistance. Contradictions between verbal content and posture can also be classified as resistance. Clenched fists, crossed arms over the chest, crossed ankles can indicate concealment. If the patient rises from the couch or, for example, puts one leg off the couch, this means that he wants to avoid the analytic situation. Avoiding the therapist's eyes also indicates resistance.

Fixation in time.

One can also notice resistance in the sequence of the story about the past and present. Typically, when the patient is speaking relatively freely, the story will alternate between past and present. If the patient speaks consistently only about the past, without inserting anything from the present, or vice versa, then some kind of resistance is at work here. At this time, one can observe avoidance, fixed emotional tone, posture, etc.

Trifles and external events.

In such situations, the patient talks about external, unimportant events that do not lead to a deepening of understanding. Lack of introspection and completeness of thought is an indicator of resistance. Also, if the external situation does not lead to a personal, internal situation, resistance works. An abundance of stories that do not lead to new memories or understandings is an indicator of security.

Avoiding topics.

Patients tend to consciously or unconsciously avoid painful topics. Often this concerns some aspect of sexuality, aggression or transference. When considering sexuality, it can be noted that most of the avoided topics relate to body parts or physical sensations. The patient will be reluctant to point out private view physical sensations or a shock that aroused him. The patient may describe the sexual event in detail, but will be reluctant to talk about what part or parts of the body were involved. “Today we indulged in oral love” or “my husband kissed me sexually” are typical examples of resistance.

The patient may also describe general outline feeling irritated when in reality he was furious or ready to kill someone.

The patient's sexual or aggressive feelings toward the therapist are also the most subtly avoided topics in early analysis. Patients will show great curiosity about the therapist, but will talk about him in the most conventional terms and will be reluctant to reveal their aggressive or sexual feelings towards him. If a topic is not included in the analytical session, then this can be considered as resistance.

Rigidity.

If a pattern is observed during an appointment with a patient, this may indicate resistance. For example, at the beginning of each session the patient touches on the same topic. He prepares each time for a session in order to fill the session or avoid silence.

The language of avoidance.

The patient's use of technical terms or sterile language is one of the most frequent manifestations resistance. Thus, the patient tries to avoid the vivid image that arises. For example, a patient who says "genital organs" when he means penis is trying to avoid the image that comes to mind when he hears the word penis. Or “I felt unpleasant” instead of “it made me angry” also indicates that the patient is trying to avoid the feeling of rage. It is very important for a therapist to be absolutely free in expression when talking with a patient.

The use of clichés isolates affects and distracts from emotional difficulties. Phrases such as “for some reason,” “I guess,” “probably” are always an indicator of avoidance.

Being late, missing sessions, forgetting when paying.

This type of resistance can manifest itself both consciously and unconsciously. In any case, this is an indicator of reluctance to come or pay for the session.

Lack of dreams.

Dreaming is one of the most important norms of approach to the unconscious and repressed. Patients who forget their dreams or tell them incompletely are subject to resistance. This behavior indicates the patient's struggle with exposing him unconscious psychotherapist. If such resistance is overcome in a given session, the patient can talk about a hitherto forgotten dream or about new fragments of it that have come to his mind.

The patient is fed up.

When the patient works well, he strives to find his fantasies. But if the patient is bored, this means that he is avoiding awareness of his unconscious impulses. Boredom, no matter what it means, is a defense against fantasy.

The patient has a secret.

The patient's secret is special shape resistance, the handling of which requires special technical consideration. The secret may be an event that the patient would like to leave alone, or even a word that he is not free to say. A secret is something extremely intimate for the patient, and showing it to the therapist means telling something important and personal.

Freud argues that if a secret is allowed to exist, all tabulated and hidden desires will use this secret as a refuge and escape analysis. The slightest concession to secrecy is incompatible with analysis.

After the patient discovers his secret, one should begin to study the patient’s reaction or study the content of the secret. It must be remembered that psychoanalysis directs the spearhead of the attack not on the secret itself, but on the motive for preserving it.

Action outside.

This resistance manifests itself in the patient's use of actions instead of words, memories and affects. For example, the patient smokes during a session or talks about psychotherapy materials with someone other than the therapist in order to reduce some aspects of his feelings. The outward action must be analyzed as resistance and its motives examined, since it may jeopardize the entire analysis.

Frequent fun sessions.

The patient should feel satisfaction or even some sense of triumph during therapy. Sometimes a correct interpretation causes spontaneous laughter in the therapist or patient. But too frequent cheerful sessions and prolonged high spirits can all indicate that something is aversive - usually something of the opposite nature, some form of depression. Flight into health, premature loss of symptoms without understanding are signs of similar types of resistance.

The patient does not change.

When the therapist is clearly working well and successfully with a patient, but the patient does not change and resistance does not appear, the therapist should look for hidden, implicit resistance. If there is no resistance, then we are most likely dealing with external action or transference resistance.

The most frequently occurring forms of resistance are listed here, but this list is not complete. Many other typical resistances can be added to this list, but they are all similar to those listed.

3 Function of resistance and its mechanism

The function of defense is to eliminate suffering, regardless of what was the stimulus that caused this painful memory, this function operates through the “I”. It is the mental structure that mobilizes the functions of disgust and avoidance. She can do this by developing unconscious defense mechanisms such as repression, projection, introjection. But it can also do this using any other mental functions.

Resistance can be attributed to all types of psychological defense. It is a “protection” of neurosis from awareness and change. “Protection” is a process that protects the psyche from pain and danger and resists instinctive actions that bring pleasure and release. The function of such protection is based on the functions of the “I” and the psychotherapeutic situation acts as resistance.

Any psychic phenomenon used for defensive purposes operates through the “I.” Therefore, the analysis of resistance should begin with it. Resistance is an operational concept that is created by analysis. The analytical situation here acts as an arena in which the forces of resistance manifest themselves.

The patient's resistance operates mainly in his unconscious. At the beginning of therapy, the patient feels resistance as some opposition to the psychotherapist's requests. But as we approach unconscious processes, resistance becomes more intense, and the patient begins to recognize it as a defensive reaction of the “I”.

The concept of resistance consists of three components: danger, forces that motivate the self to protect itself, and forces that push the pre-adaptive self forward into risk.

The lower the place in the hierarchy of defenses resistance occupies, the more closely it is connected with the repressed material and the less likely it is that it will become conscious. And vice versa, the higher the resistance rises, the more closely connected with secondary process its action is located.

All defensive behavior provides a release for that which is being defended against.

The immediate cause of defense is always the avoidance of some painful affect, anxiety, guilt or shame. More remote cause- the underlying instinctive impulse that excites these affects. The most distant cause is a traumatic situation, a situation in which the “I” is crushed and helpless, because it is flooded with anxiety that cannot be controlled, mastered or limited - a state of panic. At any sign of danger, the patient turns on protection to avoid this condition.

4 Resistance and transfer

Transference and resistance are related to each other in many ways. The expression “transference resistance” is usually used in psychoanalytic literature as a shorthand expression for the close but also complex relationship between transference phenomena and the functions of resistance. However, transference resistance can mean different things, and I believe it would be prudent to clarify this term before moving on to clinical material.

Freud argued that transference phenomena are both the source of the greatest resistance and the most powerful tool for psychoanalytic therapy. Transference reactions are a repetition of the past, an experience without memory. In this sense, all transference phenomena have resistance value. On the other hand, reactions to the analyst provide the most important bridges to the patient's unacceptable past. Transference is a circuitous path to memory and insight, but there is hardly any other path besides this one. Transference not only provides clues to what is being averted, but can also motivate and stimulate work in analysis. It is an unreliable ally because it is fickle and also produces external “transference enhancements” that are misleading.

Certain types of transference reactions evoke resistance because they contain painful and frightening libidinal and aggressive impulses. Sexual and hostile transference reactions are especially likely to be the source of important resistances. Very often erotic and aggressive components appear together. For example, a patient develops sexual feelings for her analyst and then becomes furious at the lack of reciprocity, which she takes as a refusal. Or the patient is unable to work in the analytic situation due to fear of humiliation and the revelation of infantile or primitive fantasies.

It also happens that the transference reactions themselves make the patient unable to work. For example, the patient may regress to an extremely passive, dependent stage of object relations. The patient may not be aware of this, but it will manifest itself in his behavior during the analytic session. This can manifest itself as pseudo-stupidity or blissful inertia. The patient may re-experience some early aspects of the mother-child relationship. In such a state the patient cannot do analytic work until the analyst has succeeded in restoring a rational ego and a working alliance.

The situation becomes more confusing when certain transference reactions cling to persistence in order to cover up other types of transference feelings. There are patients who persistently maintain a facade of realistic cooperation with the analyst in order to disguise their irrational fantasies. Sometimes the patient will identify certain feelings and transfer them to others in order to remain unaware of his contradiction towards the analyst. It often happens that my patients express strong hostility towards other psychoanalysts, while they feign great admiration towards me.

The most difficult reactions to overcome resistance are the so-called “character transfer” reactions. In such situations, the main character traits and relationships that have protective function, manifest themselves in relation to the analyst in the same way as in relation to people in everyday life. They are so deeply rooted in the patient's character structure and so well rationalized that they are difficult to make an object of analysis.

To summarize, transference and resistance are related in many ways. The term transfer resistance succinctly expresses this clinical fact. Transference phenomena are, in general, resistance to memory and lead in a roundabout way towards memory. Transference reactions may cause the patient to become unable to work analytically due to the nature of the reaction. Some transfer reactions can be used as resistance against the detection of other transfer reactions. Analysis of resistances is a “daily piece of bread”, a regular work in psychoanalytic therapy. More time is spent on analyzing transference resistances than on any other aspect of therapeutic work.

Chapter 2. Working with Resistance

2.1 Preliminary notes

Psychoanalytic technique cannot be defined without including a consistent and thorough analysis of resistance, since there is a close relationship between resistance and ego function. Studying it allows you to get closer to understanding the basic functions of the “I”, as well as its problems and attitude towards them. In addition, resistance analysis opens the way various functions"I", which are directly influenced by the "Id", "Super-Ego" and the external world.

Resistance to therapeutic procedures repeats neurotic conflict in various mental structures. As a result, the therapist has the opportunity to observe the formation of compromises, which are analogous to the formation of symptoms.

The treatment situation mobilizes the patient's conflicting tendencies. Before analyzing the patient's resistance, it would be advisable to review the patient's power dynamics.

Forces that are on the client side:

Neurotic suffering of the client, which forces him to work with a psychotherapist.

A conscious and rational “I”, which is tuned to certain goals and which understands the rationality of therapy.

“It”, repressed and its derivatives striving for discharge

A working alliance that allows you to establish a long-term and productive relationship with a psychotherapist.

Positive transference

The rational "super-ego" that motivates the patient to fulfill his duties and obligations.

Curiosity and a passionate desire for self-knowledge.

Desires for professional advancement

Various irrational factors such as feelings of competition with other patients, getting the money back, etc.

All these forces motivate the client to work in the analytic situation.

Forces opposing analytical procedures:

Defensive maneuvers of the subconscious "I", which prepare models for resistance operations.

Fear of change.

Irrational "Super-ego"

Hostile transfer

Sexual and romantic transference leading to jealousy and frustration, then to hostile transference.

Masochistic and sadistic impulses that lead to painful pleasures.

Impulsivity and outward actions that lead the patient to quickly achieve satisfaction without understanding.

Secondary benefits from a neurotic disease that cause the patient to “stick” to the neurosis.

These are the forces that the analytic situation mobilizes in the patient.

2 Resistance analysis technique

The term "analysis" itself is a shorthand expression for many technical procedures that contribute to patient understanding. At least four different procedures are implied by the name "analysis": confrontation, clarification, interpretation and elaboration.

Interpretation is an extremely important tool in psychoanalytic work. Any other analytical procedure is only preliminary preparation for subsequent interpretation, helping to improve the efficiency of the analysis. To interpret means to make subconscious and preconscious mental events conscious. Interpretation is the process by which the intelligent and conscious Ego becomes aware of what has been repressed and forgotten. With the help of interpretation, we attribute a certain meaning and causality to this or that mental phenomenon, we make the patient aware of the history, source, form, cause or meaning of a given mental event. This process requires more than one intervention. In the course of interpretation, the analyst uses his own conscious mind, his empathy, intuition, fantasy, just as he uses his intellect, his theoretical knowledge. Through interpretation we go beyond what ordinary conscious thought has already prepared for perception, understanding and observation. The patient's reactions to the interpretations provided to him make it possible to determine whether these latter are logical and plausible, corresponding to reality. life situation client.

When interpreting the patient’s psychological material, the analyst sets himself the following main goals:

translate the patient’s products into their unconscious content, that is, establish the relationship of certain thoughts, fantasies, feelings, and behavior of the client with their unconscious “ancestors”;

transform the unconscious elements of mental events into understanding, logical awareness, into their true meaning; fragments of past and present history, conscious and unconscious, must be connected in such a way as to create a sense of integrity and consistency that has internal logic;

communicate insights to the patient as they are achieved.

To effectively involve the patient’s “I” in this psychological work, there is necessary condition, namely: what is being interpreted must first be identified, demonstrated and clarified. To demonstrate resistance, you first need to make the patient aware that this resistance exists, that it works. Resistance must be demonstrated and the patient must be opposed to it. The specific type or particular piece of resistance is then brought into sharp focus of awareness.

It is necessary to make the patient understand what he is resisting, what he is resisting and how he is doing it. In principle, demonstration of resistance is not a requirement if the patient is aware of it. However, if the patient is not aware of the presence of resistance, he must be confronted with the fact that resistance is working before going any further.

The patient's ability to recognize resistance will depend on the clarity of the resistance and the state of his rational self. An overly intelligent “I” will pay attention to the slightest resistance, while an insufficiently intelligent “I” will demand evidence of its presence. The therapist needs to assess the degree of intelligence of the “I” in order to understand how ready the patient is to recognize resistance. It should be understood that premature demonstration of resistance may only be a waste of time, as well as material for work that could be used later.

In order to increase the demonstrativeness of resistance and make it recognizable to the Self, the therapist must allow resistance to develop. For example, remain silent or carefully work through the moment of resistance. It is necessary to analyze the resistance of the problem before analyzing the problem itself.

Confrontation and clarification are necessary complements to interpretation; they must be viewed in this way. Sometimes the patient does not need the confrontation, clarification or interpretation provided by the analyst because he is able to do all the necessary analytic work himself. In some cases, all three procedures are present in the analysis almost simultaneously, or a sudden insight can prepare the way for confrontation and clarification.

When the resistance becomes open and clear, the therapist begins to interpret the resistance. Revealing at the same time unconscious motives, fantasies, memories, thanks to which resistance arose.

An event that is a motive for resistance is the starting point in the analysis of resistance and then leads to affects, impulses, and memories.

By and large, resistance is a repetition of events from the past.

Elaboration essentially refers to repetition and the development of more nuanced, more detailed interpretations that lead the patient from an initial understanding of a particular phenomenon to more elaborate subsequent changes in reactions and behavior.

Careful elaboration makes the interpretation effective. Consequently, confrontation and clarification prepare the interpretive procedure, while elaboration completes the analytical work. In this case, interpretation becomes the central and main tool of psychoanalysis.

So, the resistance analysis technique consists of the following basic procedures.

The process of becoming aware of resistance.

Demonstration of the fact of resistance to the patient:

demonstrative identification of resistance;

increased resistance.

Clarification of motives and forms of resistance:

what specific painful affect makes the patient resist;

what specific instinctive impulse is the cause of the painful affect at the time of analysis;

what specific form and what specific method used by the patient to express his resistance.

Interpretation of resistance:

finding out which fantasies or memories are the cause of the affects and impulses behind the resistance;

an explanation of the origins and unconscious objects of identified affects, impulses, or mental events.

Resistance Shape Interpretation:

an explanation of this form, as well as similar forms of activity during analysis and outside analysis;

tracing the history and unconscious purposes of these activities in the patient's present and past.

An experienced analyst knows that only a small portion of the analysis can be accomplished in a single session. Mostly, the sessions end with just a vague awareness that some kind of resistance is “working.” In such cases, the analyst only points out to the patient that he is hiding something or avoiding a certain topic. Whenever possible, the analyst attempts to investigate these phenomena. Moreover, the diligence of the analyst himself should play a secondary role in the study and disclosure of unconscious phenomena. It is important not to rush into interpretation, as this can either traumatize the patient or lead to his intellectual rivalry with the analyst. In any case, the consequence will be increased resistance. It is necessary to give the patient the opportunity to feel his resistance and only then move on to its interpretation.

The patient should be explained that resistance is his own mental activity, an action that he himself carries out unconsciously, preconsciously or consciously, that resistance is not the patient’s fault or weakness, and that the analysis of resistance is an important part of psychoanalysis proper. Only when the patient himself determines that he is resisting, he himself answers the question of why and what he is resisting, does cooperation with him become possible, only then is the working alliance necessary for effective analysis created.

resistance psychotherapy affect transference

There are certain rules for the technique of resistance analysis. These rules are rather guidelines and are not recommended to strictly adhere to, since this is creative work and any mechanization can lead to a decrease in efficiency. But certain procedures are always useful for a normal situation.

One of the rules is that resistance analysis occurs before content analysis. The main task of psychoanalytic therapy is not to make the unconscious conscious, but to overcome resistance. Freud argued that the analyst's job is to analyze and interpret resistance. If he succeeds in this, then more and more new memories will be revealed to the patient, and new connections will be established.

There is no point in revealing the repressed if it is met by the same defensive forces that led to the neurotic conflict.

The psychotherapist analyzes resistance first because resistance will interfere with the formation of a rational "I" in the patient. Working with resistance can be more difficult than working with content. But if resistance is not analyzed, then all analytical work may come to a dead end.

Another rule is a continuation of the previous rule. The meaning of this rule is that the patient determines the subject of the session.

Freud associates this rule with the fact that the therapist begins analytical work from the surface of the patient's mind. The therapist should not impose his interests on the patient, as well as theoretical conclusions. The free association method is also based on allowing the patient to choose the topic of the session. Very often the patient defines the topic by what he is silent about and what he avoids.

Allowing the patient to choose the subject of the session means allowing him to begin each session with the demonstration of material that bothers him, and also not imposing his interests on him.

Even if the material from yesterday's session seems very important, the therapist should withhold his interest and follow the patient as long as he is working productively.

The patient chooses the topic of the session, and the therapist selects from this topic the material that, in his opinion, should concern him, even if he is not aware of it.

Exception from all general rules is that not every resistance needs to be analyzed. The study of small, temporary resistances can lead away from important material. The patient himself can cope with such resistances. This can give him an active role in overcoming his resistances. However, if resistance persists, it should be analyzed.

Conclusion

In this course work the concept of resistance and its various shapes, as well as ways to work with it and recommendations on the technique of analyzing it are given. It is safe to say that resistance analysis is the cornerstone of psychoanalytic technique.

Resistance haunts the patient throughout the entire treatment. At first glance, it interferes with the patient's progress towards recovery, but at the same time it is an ally of the patient and the therapist. Resistance analysis plays a very important role in psychoanalytic therapy, since thanks to it the psychotherapist can understand the nature of the patient’s neurotic conflicts. Studying it allows you to get closer to understanding the basic functions of the “I”.

Resistance can take various forms of manifestation. It is extremely diverse, difficult to recognize and constantly changes its shape. The most important type of resistance encountered in analysis is transfer resistance.

The functions of resistance are to eliminate suffering. It acts through the “I” and therefore the analysis of resistance always begins with the analysis of the “I”. This is one of the basic rules of resistance analysis.

To successfully analyze resistance, the therapist needs to clarify the resistance, demonstrate it, and interpret it.

You also need to remember that not all resistances need to be analyzed, as this may lead the therapist away from important material.

List of used literature

Abramova G.S. Workshop on psychological counseling. - Ekaterinburg: Business book, 1995

Aleshina Yu.E. Individual and family psychological counseling - M.: Publishing house. center of the consortium “Social Health of Russia”, 1994

Bugental J. The Art of a Psychotherapist - St. Petersburg: Peter, 2001

Konchunas R. Psychological counseling. Group psychotherapy - M.: Academic project; OPPL, 2002

May R. Art psychological counseling- M.: Class, 1994

Nemov R.S. Psychological counseling - M.: VLADOS, 2000

Fundamentals of age-related psychological counseling // ed. Leaders A.G. - M.: Moscow State University Publishing House, 1999

Semenova N.D. Ethical foundations of psychotherapy // Main directions of modern psychotherapy - M.: Cognito-CENTER, 2000

Family in psychological consultation: Experience and problems of psychological counseling // Ed. A.A. Bodaleva, V.V. Stolina. - M.: Medicine, 1998

Khlomov D.N. Gelstatt therapy // Main directions of modern psychotherapy - M.: Cognito-CENTER, 2000

Kholmogorova A.B., Garayan N.G. Cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy // Main directions of modern psychotherapy - M.: Cognito-CENTER, 2000

Greenson R.R. Technique and practice of psychoanalysis - M.: Cognito-Center, 2003.

Freud Z. Introduction to psychoanalysis - St. Petersburg, Aletheia St. Petersburg, 1999

Freud Z. Analysis of a phobia of a five-year-old boy - M.: Education, 1990.

Freud Z. Collected works in 10 volumes. Volume 6. Hysteria and fear - M.: STD Firm, 2006.

Freud Z. I and It - M.: Merani, 1991.

Freud A. Psychology of the “I” and defense mechanisms. - M.: Pedagogy-Press, 1993.

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The situation is such that by overcoming the resistance of the psyche, an individual is able to move to another (next) level of his own perception of life, and therefore rise to the next step in the social ladder.

This becomes possible in the following way. It is known that the individual’s psyche is divided into three important components: consciousness, subconscious (unconscious), and the so-called. mental censorship. The latter is assigned the role of critical analysis in assessing information coming from the outside world. Some of this information is passed into consciousness by censorship (which means the individual is able to be aware of this information), and some - encountering obstacles in the psyche, the Super-Ego (Alter-Ego, censorship of the psyche) passes into the subconscious. In order from there to subsequently influence the actions of the individual through the implementation of emerging thoughts, i.e. one way or another, such information again appears in consciousness, which means it is realized by the individual.

In this case, attention should be paid to the existence in the psyche of a special kind of mechanisms known as mental defenses. One of the defenses is resistance.

Without going into the specifics of resistance, which was examined in detail in the last century by scientists working in the mainstream of psychoanalysis, let us consider resistance in the concept of an individual’s life growth, increasing his social status, his intellectual abilities, life adaptation, etc.

First of all in in this case It is necessary to highlight the role of resistance precisely in the direction of increasing the overcoming of the psyche to master new information. At the same time we're talking about not about any new information at all, but about that information that causes a certain “protest” in the psyche, both encountering a barrier of criticality, and, in other cases, initiating it.

This becomes possible in cases where the nature of new information, its semantic part, does not find a response in the individual’s soul, that is, at the initial level of its perception it becomes impossible to correlate this information with information that already existed earlier in the individual’s unconscious, information that, being in the individual's memory - begins to clearly resist the receipt of new information.

This kind of resistance is especially strong if either the general information-target orientation of the new and previous information coincides, or if new information represents something new in general, perhaps even to some extent presented for the first time in the psyche of such an individual, which means that in assessing such information the individual - unconsciously - will not refer only to that general idea about this or that problem (issue), which, as is known, exists in the soul of almost every individual, and characterizes the individual’s life experience, amount of knowledge, etc., that is, everything that defines an adult socially adapted member of society.

At the same time, it is necessary to pay attention that the information received from the outside world (through any types of contacts: interpersonal, through the media, etc.) does not all and does not completely resonate in the soul of the individual. First of all, the influence is exerted by the information that seems to have hit a special wavelength, to which the individual’s psyche is tuned at the moment of receiving such information. At the same time, here we must also say that at the next moment the same information may no longer be perceived in the same way. Even in general, invisible barriers, the so-called, may stand in its way. criticality, which is the result of mental censorship. But if we consider the previous point, we say that in some miraculous way the information affecting the individual’s psyche turned out to be involved in the “here and now” mode, if this information did not turn out to be like other (or most of the other) repressed into the subconscious, but almost unhindered , or, for example, without losing its main essence, after which it is subsequently possible to restore its components, collecting a single whole, so, if we say that such information has now penetrated into consciousness, penetrated immediately into consciousness, then we should admit that this is also quite possible. And this happens as a result of the fact that part of such information (apparently its vanguard) not only entered with its codes (any information, as is known, can also be presented in a system of codes) into a correlate with information already available in the individual’s psyche, but also in As a result of this, the censorship of the psyche temporarily weakened and opened slightly (metaphorically speaking, the psyche opened a barrier to the entry of new information). This means that information of a different kind, supplied, for example, with information that penetrated through the coincidence of codes, can also penetrate into consciousness. Unless in this case we could notice that such information (information that entered consciousness fraudulently) will not stay in it for long, and in the same way will be repressed into the subconscious. But if, as a result of censorship (in the event of an attempt to receive information from the outside world), information passes into the subconscious from the outside world, then in this case, this kind of information is forced out of consciousness. Although in both cases it ends up in the subconscious, or unconscious of the psyche.

If we return to the issue of the receipt of information, which, through the unconscious selection of codes, turned out to be in demand in consciousness, then in this case it is also necessary to keep in mind that such a mechanism of the psyche, which is capable of letting through, almost bypassing censorship, some information, is well known to specialists on manipulation of the psyche. Moreover, the word “manipulation,” which has received a somewhat negative aspect, as we have already noted earlier, can be replaced with the seemingly neutral word “management.” Management, or more precisely - programming of the psyche. At the same time, as if it were self-evident, there is no doubt that after rearranging the words, the semantic impact does not change. In addition, we can say that the word “management” does not cause such a strong provocation of the psyche, an explosion of emotions, etc. barriers of the psyche, which, depending on the circumstances, can carry both positive and negative aspects as a result of voicing the word “manipulation”, which in some way already involves (by activating or raising, depending on the direction of influence) one or another layer of the unconscious psyche, in in the depths of which (the unconscious) lurk such deposits of sometimes priceless material that those who know how to extract from the subconscious at least an insignificant part of the information hidden there are able to significantly outstrip other individuals in information power. After all, in this case, such a feature of the psyche (brain) becomes very important that it is important not only to receive any information from the outside world, but also to remember it. Moreover, both the process and the result of memorization are tested quite simply, and as one of the options, it includes such a component of the individual’s psyche as memory. Memory in this case is consciousness, and both the time spent by information in the psyche and the process of extracting information from memory are an indicator of the presence of information in consciousness. The process of remembering is similar in this case to the process of extracting information from the subconscious and getting such information into consciousness. Despite the rather limited volume of consciousness (in comparison with the subconscious), without, in fact, consciousness, it would be very problematic to realize the real state of affairs. Because if an individual remained in an unconscious state all the time, then this would mean the beginning of great troubles, because reality in the category “here and now” would not be tested, which means that primary instincts, the desires of a savage would take precedence - to kill, eat, rape. And they would be implemented everywhere. Which would lead to the virtual destruction of culture. General degradation, if you approach this with knowledge of the models that exist now.

How does information entering the psyche from the outside world resonate in the soul of an individual? Apparently, if we abstract from our metaphorical concept of “waves” in correlating information from the external world and what is hidden in the subconscious (this can really be compared to tuning into the desired wave, following the example of radio waves, for example), most likely we should say that Before us is a kind of coincidence of the encoding of new information with information that was previously already in the unconscious of the psyche. Apparently, it is in this case that behavior patterns based in the subconscious are activated; as a result, new information, practically bypassing the censorship of the psyche (which retreats, recognizing its own after receiving certain “revocation passwords”), immediately enters consciousness, and therefore has an effect direct impact on the actions of the individual. Moreover, even if for some reason such information (or part of it) turns out to be repressed into the subconscious, most likely it will not penetrate further than the preconscious (there is also such a structure of the psyche, which, in Freud’s metaphorical expression, means a hallway, that is, something between front door(censorship of the psyche), and the living room (consciousness), or - it will end up in the unconscious, but with some positive marking. That is, as a result, information that was already in the subconscious early on will be enriched with another charge of a similar orientation (encoding), intensified, which means we can talk (immediately or after some time) about the formation of behavior patterns, which in turn influence the appearance the individual has certain thoughts, and as a consequence - corresponding actions (actions - as a consequence of thoughts-desires). Those. in this case, we can very well talk about modeling the behavior of an individual in particular, and if we look at it in a more expanded aspect (with an emphasis on the laws of mass behavior) - modeling the behavior of the masses.

Answering the question of how this or that information is suppressed by the censorship of the psyche, going into the subconscious, we assume that such information has not received the proper “response” in the soul of the individual evaluating such information. After all, it is known that almost any information from the outside world is assessed by the psyche of the “receiving party”. And it depends on this what information the individual’s psyche will allow into consciousness and immediately begin to work with such information, and will displace some information. As Prof. pointed out. Freud, any situations or life circumstances that are painful for the individual’s psyche are repressed, i.e. everything that he unconsciously does not want to let into consciousness. In this case, it is also appropriate to say that as a result of this, a kind of mental resistance is activated, as a result of which undesirable moments of life are forgotten, that is, deliberately repressed. Or, for example, in the way of information trying to penetrate consciousness, there is censorship of the psyche, which owns in various ways protection, one of which is resistance, and as a consequence of the work of resistance - repression. Moreover, all this (both resistance and repression) is also nothing more than the ability of the psyche to get rid of neurosis, because any flows of information undesirable for the psyche can, after some time, lead to the appearance of symptoms of neurosis, and as a consequence - mental illnesses, disorders psyche. “...a prerequisite for the existence of a symptom,” wrote Prof. S. Freud, - is that some mental process did not occur completely in a normal way, so that it could not become conscious. The symptom is a substitute for what has not been realized... Strong resistance had to be directed against... the mental process penetrating into consciousness; so he remained unconscious. As an unconscious person, he has the ability to form a symptom. ...The pathogenic process, manifested in the form of resistance, deserves the name of repression.”

Thus, we seem to be already tracing the emergence of repression through resistance to the censorship of the psyche, which resists allowing unwanted, painful information for the psyche to pass into consciousness, and therefore subjugate the thoughts, desires, and actions of the individual. While the fact that after sometimes a very minimal time, these same pathogenic microbes, which have settled in the unconscious of the psyche, will begin to wander in search of supporters, and having found the latter, will still be able to break through the defenses and find themselves in consciousness, this is about the psyche that initiated the obstacles on the way flows of information from the outside world, as if he doesn’t even think. Nor do all those who erroneously believe that nothing exists except consciousness, denying the subconscious under far-fetched pretexts, and thereby falling with their actions under the systematics of defense mechanisms described at one time by the Freud family (father and daughter Anna, professor psychology), and continued in the developments of other psychoanalytic scientists, in their studies of the depths of the psyche.

Before considering in more detail the role of resistance in the life of an individual, we note that prof. R. Greenson distinguished psychoanalysis from all other psychotherapeutic techniques precisely by the fact that it considered the issue of resistance. According to prof. R. Greenson, resistance can be conscious, preconscious, subconscious, and can be expressed in the form of emotions, thoughts, ideas, attitudes, fantasies, etc. In addition, as R. Greenson points out, one of the forms of resistance is silence. “Silence is the most transparent and frequent form of resistance encountered in psychoanalytic practice,” writes Prof. R. Greenson. - This means that the patient is consciously or unconsciously unwilling to communicate his thoughts or feelings to the analyst. ...our task is to analyze the reasons for silence. …Sometimes, despite silence, the patient may involuntarily reveal the motive or content of the silence by his posture, movements or facial expression.”

Making a small digression, we would like to draw attention to the methodology of applied psychoanalysis, which, in our opinion, is one of them the most efficient systems control of the psyche of man and the masses; true our use similar technique supported (enriched) by some other approaches to influencing the psyche, which in our opinion are also effective. We should also talk about a number of differences between classical psychoanalysis and the so-called. therapeutic aspect, and applied psychoanalysis, where theories of influence on the conscious-subconscious are developed not for a psychotherapeutic effect (in terms of treating a specific individual or group of patients), but for the purpose of controlling a person, modeling his thoughts, desires, actions, etc., etc. their effectiveness are applicable both to the individual in particular and to society as a whole. In this case, we can already talk about the art of crowd control. About the preliminary modeling of the behavior of the masses by programming their psyches to carry out the necessary settings. Those who give such instructions are called manipulators. But they, as we have already noted, can also be called managers, managers, anyone, if we approach such a question in the context of management, the power of some people over others. And this, in our opinion, is an important feature of the general approach to the possibility of controlling the psyche. Yes, this is justified, especially considering the fact that the enemy is not asleep, developing more and more new ways of manipulating mass psychic consciousness and discovering new techniques for influencing the subconscious in order to manipulate an individual’s personality. Therefore, the one who will win will not only be able to identify the enemy’s attempts, but will also be able to defeat the enemy using his own methods, at best forcing him to follow his lead, and at least avoiding his psychological attacks.

Returning to the issue of resistance, we should pay attention to the fact that the psyche almost always protests to everything new and unknown. And this happens because, as if initially (when new information arrives), the individual components of such information look for some kind of related connections, that is, something similar that could be clinging to. That is, when new information begins to be evaluated by the brain, it looks for something familiar in this information, through which it could gain a foothold. When the codes of new information and information already existing in the unconscious of the individual’s psyche coincide, in this case a certain associative connection between the new and existing information, which means that a specific contact is established, as a result of which new information seems to fall on fertile soil, and having some kind of basis under it, it serves the possibility of adapting new information, enriching it with existing information, and through some kind of transformation (without this there is no way, human memory cannot help but be updated) some new information is born, which already passes into consciousness, and therefore, through thoughts that arise in the unconscious psyche, it is projected onto actions, which, although in most cases (if there is no ISS) a consequence of the activity of consciousness, nevertheless take its basis in the unconscious of the psyche, it is there that it is born (formed). At the same time, we must say that resistance, namely resistance, allows us to identify the unconscious impulses of an individual, his unconscious desires, attitudes that were previously (by someone: another individual, society, environment, etc.) embedded in the psyche of such an individual, and already in one way or another influence the current or future activities of the individual. One can even say that the programming of an individual occurs in part by introducing various attitudes into his subconscious, which can later be demanded by the manipulator (and then he activates them through code signals of an auditory-visual-kinesthetic nature); Moreover, the role of such a manipulator can be played by both specific individuals and society, the social environment, any natural factors, etc. Thus, we must say that any kind of information that is involved in any representative or signaling system of a person is either simply (and immediately) deposited in the unconscious of the psyche, or finds confirmation in existing earlier information, thereby being enriched due to this, and strengthened - turns out to be capable of influencing the life activity of the individual we are considering.

Professor R. Greenson, considering the role of resistance, drew attention to the fact that resistance can be obvious or not obvious, but it almost always exists, and manifests itself in different ways. For example, when receiving any information, a person may not outwardly show any emotions, but it is precisely in this that one can see resistance, because, according to R. Greenson, the absence of affect is observed precisely when actions that “should be extremely charged with emotion." But at the same time, the person’s comments are “dry, boring, monotonous and inexpressive.” Thus, we have the erroneous idea that the person himself is not interested, and the information received does not touch him. Absolutely not, he is actively experiencing, for example, but strives not to show his attitude to this or that situation precisely by unconsciously turning on resistance. “In general, affect discrepancy is the most a clear sign resistance,” notes Prof. R. Greenson .-The patient’s utterances seem strange when the content of the utterance and the emotion do not correspond to each other.”

In addition, prof. R. Greenson draws attention to postures that can serve as a sure non-verbal sign of resistance. “When the patient is rigid, motionless, curled up in a ball, as if protecting himself, this may indicate protection. In addition, any postures that are accepted by the patient and sometimes do not change during the session and from session to session are always a sign of resistance. If the patient is relatively free from resistance, his posture will somehow change during the session. Excessive movement also shows that something is being discharged in movement rather than in words. Contradiction between posture and verbal content is also a sign of resistance. A patient who talks calmly about an event while he himself writhes and squirms is telling only part of the story. His movements retell another part of her. Clenched fists, arms tightly crossed over the chest, ankles pressed together indicate concealment... Yawning during a session is a sign of resistance. The way the patient enters the office without looking at the analyst or makes small talk that does not continue on the couch, or the way he leaves without looking at the analyst are all indicators of resistance."

Also, R. Greenson pointed out resistance if a person always tells something consistently about the present, without diving into the past, or about the past, without jumping into the present. “Attachment to a specific time period is avoidance, analogous to rigidity, fixation of emotional tone, posture, etc.” .

Resistance is also indicated by the fact that a person, when telling something, talks about superficial and unimportant events for a long time, as if unconsciously avoiding what may be truly important for him. “When there is repetition of content without development or affect, or without deepening understanding, we are forced to assume that some kind of resistance is at work. If talking about little things does not seem superfluous to the patient himself, we are dealing with “escape.” Lack of introspection and completeness of thought is an indicator of resistance. In general, verbalization that may be abundant but does not lead to new memories or new insights or greater emotional awareness is an indicator of defensive behavior."

Resistance should also include avoidance of any topics that are painful for the psyche of this person. Or a story in general phrases about what actually caused a storm of emotions in the soul of a given individual at one time. In addition, in resistance one should guess any unconscious reluctance to change any established order in conducting conversations, meetings, forms of communication, etc. .

At the same time, we can also say that performing the same type and established actions is also one of the forms of protection against neurotic dependence. At one time, Prof. O. Fenichel drew attention to the fact that in all psychoneuroses, control on the part of the Ego is weakened, but with obsessions and compulsions, the Ego continues to control the motor sphere, but does not completely dominate it, and only in accordance with the circumstances. In this case, there may be a clear transition of a phobia into an obsession. “At first a certain situation is avoided, then, in order to ensure the necessary avoidance, attention is constantly tense. Later, this attention becomes obsessive or another “positive” obsessive attitude develops, so incompatible with the initially frightening situation that its avoidance is guaranteed. Touching taboos are replaced by touching rituals, fears of contamination by washing compulsions; social fears - social rituals, fears of falling asleep - ceremonies of preparation for bed, inhibition of walking - mannered walking, phobias of animals - compulsions when dealing with animals."

An indicator of resistance according to R. Greenson is also “the use of clichés, technical terms or sterile language,” which indicates that such a person, in order to avoid personal self-disclosure, avoids the figurativeness of his speech. For example, he says “I felt hostility,” when in fact he was furious, thereby “avoiding the image and feeling of fury, preferring to it the sterility of “hostility.”

“From my clinical experience working with patients in such situations, I concluded,” writes Prof. R. Greenson, - that “really” and “honestly” usually mean that the patient feels ambivalent and is aware of the contradictory nature of his feelings. He wants , so that what he said was the whole truth. “I really think so” means that he really wants to think so. “I'm sincerely sorry” means that he would like to be sincerely sorry, but he is also aware that he has opposing feelings. “I think I was angry” means: I am sure that I was angry, but I am reluctant to admit it. “I don't know where to start” means: I know where to start, but I'm hesitant to start. A patient who says to the analyst several times, “I'm sure you really remember my sister...” usually means: I'm not at all sure, idiot, whether you really remember her, so I'm reminding you of it. All this is very subtle, but usually repetitions indicate the presence of resistances and should be seen as such. The most frequently repeated clichés are manifestations of character resistance and are difficult to deal with before the analysis is in full swing. Isolated clichés can be easily accessed at an early stage of analysis.”

Various types of manifestations of resistance should also include delays, omissions, forgetting, boredom, acting out (may manifest itself in the fact that a person talks about the same facts different people; in this case, by the way, unconscious evidence is also manifested - confirmation of the importance of such information for a person), deliberate gaiety or sadness. "...great enthusiasm or prolonged elation shows that there is something that is being averted - usually something of the opposite nature, some form of depression."

Speaking about resistance, we must also say that if we manage to break such a defensive reaction of the psyche on the way to obtaining new information, then in this case, by weakening the censorship of the psyche, we will be able to achieve an effect incomparably greater than if new information , through associative connections and the appearance of empathic attachment, would pass through the barrier of the psyche and would remain conscious. And a greater effect is achieved precisely due to the fact that the psyche, as if wanting to “justify itself” for its previous inaccessibility, opens up almost to its maximum on the path of new information. Moreover, such information can fill the depths of the psyche and be projected (later) onto consciousness in at least two directions. In the first, she can - even if she initially finds herself in the unconscious - create there those stable formations on which she can subsequently rely if she wants to take power into her own hands while introjecting information stored in the unconscious into consciousness. Such a period can be, depending on the time, short-term and intense; or be noticeably distributed over time, and, as it were, prepare for a performance, i.e. to the transition of information from the unconscious to consciousness. Whereas in the second option, we can say that for some time such information (newly received information) will not only be inactive, but there will also be an assumption that it lies exclusively in those depths of the psyche from which it is not so it will be easy to remove when the appropriate time comes. Moreover, such a time (such a suspicion may arise) may not come.

Actually this is not true. And it is in the second case, more often than in the first, that we witness that such information, information that had previously entered the subconscious, is activated in such a strong way that it will literally pull with it other information stored in the unconscious, if it is found in such information any similarity. Moreover, the newly formed flow of such information, information to some extent that does not have personal historical unconscious experience associated with the psyche of a particular individual, will not only fill the resulting void, but will also clearly lead to the fact that it will pull this entire flow along with it, and ultimately over a long period of time will be able to subordinate to his perception almost any other information that will then enter the psyche, and thus it will indeed turn out to be much higher in effectiveness. Moreover, in our opinion, this is closely related to the specifics of education and training. For if in this way we manage to break the resistance of another individual on the path of receiving new information, then it is likely that such information will not only be deposited in the subconscious, but the individual will also have the opportunity to perceive it in a cognitive (conscious) way. Moreover, we repeat once again that in terms of the strength of its own impact on the individual’s psyche, such information can have an incomparably greater impact in comparison with the modality of previously existing information in the psyche. Yes, if the modality coincides, then in this case the state of rapport occurs more easily, i.e. a secure connection is established whereby one individual (or group) becomes receptive to receiving information from another individual (group). The state of rapport also turns out to be very effective during manipulative influence, i.e. when controlling one person, the psyche of another. At the same time, for such an impact, for its effectiveness, it is necessary to find something in the supplied information that will find confirmation with the information that already exists in the psyche. “...in the human brain,” wrote academician V.M. Kandyba, referring to the teachings of the Russian hypnotist A.M. Svyadosha, - ...processes of probabilistic forecasting take place, accompanied by processes of verification of all incoming information, i.e. there is an unconscious determination of its reliability and significance.” In this connection, if you need to suggest something to another person, then it is necessary to ensure “the introduction of information that is accepted by a person without critical evaluation and has an impact on neuropsychic processes.” At the same time, as Kandyba noted, “not all information has an irresistibly suggestive effect. Depending on the forms of submission, source of receipt and individual characteristics individual, the same information may or may not have a suggestive effect on the individual.”

The state of rapport is generally considered invaluable in using all the possibilities of trance influence. We do not need to put the object into a sleep state for this. More precisely, he falls into sleep, but this will be the so-called. a dream come true. And just such a state, in our opinion, turns out to be the most effective and unusually effective in realizing the possibilities of informational and psychological influence on an individual, on an object, in order to instill in the latter the fulfillment certain actions, we need.

Returning to the topic of resistance, let us highlight once again important function similar defensive reaction of the psyche. And then we note that by overcoming resistance, we open our psyche in the most amazing way to perceive new information. Moreover, there is a high probability of obtaining completely new information. After all, if earlier, as we said, some information was already present in memory, then when new information is received, the censorship of the psyche unconsciously looks for confirmation of the newly received information in the memory stores. Probably the psyche in this case should react in a certain way, and it reacts. Visually, this is noticeable by the external changes that occur with a person in parallel “here and now” (redness or pallor of the facial skin, dilated pupils, variants of catalepsy (numbness of the body), etc.). Moreover, such changes can occur and not necessarily so noticeably, but still be caught by the eye of an experienced observer. Such changes indicate the onset, the possibility, of rapport (information contact) with the object of manipulation. And the probability that in this state the object will accept the information supplied to it without cuts reaches one hundred percent. Another question is that there may be individuals who cannot be brought into a state of rapport in the “here and now” transcription, but something similar, for example, can be done later. All the same, everyone has states when he is maximally susceptible to informational and psychological influence, to manipulation of his psyche, invasion of his psyche and control of the psyche of a given person. Moreover, it is also possible to fully trace the choice of the right moment, but for this you need to have experience, knowledge, and a predisposition to realize this kind of opportunities. Those. at least relative, but abilities, and even better - talent. In this case, the likelihood of achieving the programming result increases significantly.

But let's get back to the resistance. So, as a result of the fact that the barrier of criticality is broken, the psyche begins to perceive new information with unprecedented force. Such information is deposited in the subconscious and is reflected in the preconscious and consciousness. That is, in this case we can say that the attack is being carried out on several fronts at once. As a result, unusually strong programming of the psyche is observed, the emergence of powerful, stable mechanisms (patterns of behavior) in the unconscious. In addition, after the creation of something like this, there is an initiation of the emergence of more and more new mechanisms of a similar orientation in the unconscious of the psyche. However, now they find constant reinforcement in both consciousness and preconsciousness. This means that not only is the process of consolidating information once received in the subconscious possible (not just any information, but precisely that which caused such a process, information that, as a result of the receipt of which, patterns began to form in the unconscious), but also such information begins to become active , soon subordinating the thoughts and desires of the individual in a manner indicated by the semantic load of this kind of information. At the same time, a very important factor in the processing of such information is the characteristics of the individual’s psyche. It is known that the same information may have no effect on one individual, but cause another to almost radically change their life.

Considering the impact of information on the psyche in more detail in the corresponding chapter of our study, let us pay attention to the role of resistance in assessing information coming from the outside, both from the immediate surrounding world (buildings, architectural monuments, landscape, infrastructure, etc.) and from others individuals (as a result of interpersonal contacts), as well as transporting information over significant distances using mass media and information (MSC and media). As we have already noted, the same information can either have or not influence an individual. In the first case, we should talk about establishing rapport (contact), as a result of which the barrier of criticality of the psyche is weakened (censorship of the psyche according to Freud), which means that such information is able to penetrate into consciousness, or from under consciousness (where any kind of information is deposited anyway ) have an impact on consciousness, i.e. in the process of initial encoding of the psyche, control of it is achieved, because it has long been proven by various scientists (S. Freud, K. Jung, V.M. Bekhterev, Pavlov, V.M. and D.V. Kandyba, V. Reich, G. Lebon, Moscovici, K. Horney, V.A. Medvedev, S.G. Kara-Murza, I.S. Kon, L.M. Shcheglov, A. Shchegolev, N. Blagoveshchensky, and many others), that It is the subconscious, the unconscious, that controls the thoughts and actions of an individual. But we must pay attention that if we make attempts to break the barrier of criticality, then it becomes possible to achieve as a result of this step (note, very dangerous, and necessary to be carried out under the guidance of specialists of the appropriate profile) something like “enlightenment”, satori. Just similar conditions were the goal of martial arts and meditative practice in martial arts and Eastern philosophy (religion), or a state of enlightened consciousness in Russian pagan practices, or similar states in other systems of the world. Moreover, it should be noted that the state of satori is a temporary state, passing over time (lasts from several seconds to several minutes, for some a little more or less), but one thing is certain: it is not an eternal state, i.e. are not states in the “once and for all” paradigm, therefore, after some time it is necessary to again plunge into the depths of consciousness or overcome resistance in order to achieve a similar effect. Unless in this case we can note that most likely for the majority after the first achievement of such a state, the subsequent induction of the state of “enlightenment” will be easier. Although in this case it is necessary to take into account the greater predictability of achieving this for “artists” (in the context of the division of the psyche proposed at one time by academician I.P. Pavlov, who divided the psyche of individuals into “thinkers” and “artists”). Pavlov classified the former as those who remember logical information well, and the latter (“artists”) as visual. According to academician I.P. Pavlov, the introduction of the left hemisphere includes speech, reading, writing, counting, solving problems requiring logic (rational, analytical, verbal thinking). In the introduction of the right - intuition and spatial-imaginative thinking (i.e. visual and auditory figurative memory). Let us add that the input of the left hemisphere (as academician V.M. Kandyba believes) includes consciousness (10% of the brain), and the right hemisphere includes the subconscious, or unconscious (90% of the brain). Moreover, the mechanisms of brain functioning are the result of the functioning of the individual’s psyche, and therefore the methods of subsequent influence on the psyche of the object of manipulation, so let us dwell in a little more detail on the activity of the brain hemispheres. As noted by Academician V.M. Kandyba, a person has two brains (right and left). The right one is the “animal” brain, more ancient. The left one is the result of the development of humanity, a later psychophysiological formation. The left brain exists only in higher organisms, and is most developed in humans. It is the left brain that is capable of speech, logical thinking, abstract inferences, has external and internal verbal speech, as well as the ability to perceive, verify, remember and reproduce information and the individual life experience of a particular individual. In addition, there is an interrelation between the work of the left and right brain, since the left brain perceives reality through the corresponding mechanisms (images, instincts, feelings, emotions) of the right brain. As, indeed, through their analytical and verification psychophysiological mechanisms (life experience, knowledge, goals, attitudes).

The right brain, as we have already noted, extends into the spectrum of activity of the unconscious psyche. Whereas the left one forms a conscious personality. Right hemisphere thinks in images, feelings, grasping a picture, left - analyzes information received from the outside world, prerogative logical thinking- left hemisphere. The right hemisphere realizes emotions, the left - thoughts and signs (speech, writing, etc.) There are individuals who, in a completely new environment, have the impression of “already seen.” This is a typical example of right hemisphere activity. As a result, we can say that the activity of the brain is ensured by two hemispheres, the right (sensual) and the left (sign, i.e. integrates objects of the external world with the help of signs: words, speech, etc.). The complementarity of the activities of the two hemispheres is often manifested by the simultaneous presence in the psyche of the individual of the rational and intuitive, reasonable and sensual. Hence high efficiency directive instructions to the brain in the form of such mechanisms of suggestive influence as orders, self-hypnosis, etc. This is due to the specifics of mental activity, when, while pronouncing or hearing a speech, a person’s imagination also turns on, which in this case noticeably enhances this kind of impact. (For more details about the specifics of brain activity when processing information coming from the outside world, see the corresponding chapters of our study.) Therefore, without dwelling on the mechanisms of the brain, let us return once again to the state of enlightenment, satori, insight, insight, etc. numerous names denoting the essence of the same thing - the establishment from now on (from the beginning of the activation of such a mechanism) of a stable connection between the manipulator and the object at which the manipulative influence is directed.

Any kind of manipulation is suggestion, i.e. conscious change of the object’s existing attitudes through the involvement (activation) of archetypes of the unconscious psyche; archetypes, in turn, involve previously formed patterns of behavior. If we consider this from the perspective of neurophysiology, then the corresponding dominant is activated in the subject’s brain (focal excitation of the cerebral cortex), which means that the part of the brain that is responsible for consciousness slows down its work. In this case, the censorship of the psyche (as a structural unit of the psyche) is temporarily blocked or semi-blocked, which means information from the outside world freely enters the preconscious, or even immediately into consciousness. Sometimes, bypassing consciousness, it passes into the subconscious. The personal unconscious of the psyche (subconscious) is also formed in the process of repressing information by censorship of the psyche. But probably not all information coming from the outside world is repressed unconsciously into the unconscious. Some of it still seems to go into the subconscious on purpose. For example, to feed the information already available in the unconscious and to further form archetypes, or specifically and exclusively for the purpose of forming new archetypes, patterns of future behavior of the individual. And this, in our opinion, must be correctly understood and distinguished.

In this case, you should once again pay attention to the need to break resistance. It is known that resistance is activated when new information enters the brain (psyche), information that initially does not find a response in the human soul, does not find something similar to the information already in memory. Such information does not pass the criticality barrier and is repressed into the subconscious. However, if through an effort of will (i.e., using consciousness; will is the prerogative of the activity of consciousness) we can prevent repression, and force the brain to analyze the incoming information (the part of such information that we need), then we will be able to overcome resistance, and therefore after some At that time it will be possible to experience that state that we called early satori, or insight. Moreover, the effect of this will be incomparably higher than information that methodically and over a long period of time penetrated the subconscious, later influencing consciousness. In our case, if the barrier of criticality, and therefore resistance, is broken, we will achieve incomparably more, because in this case the so-called state will be observed for some time. “green corridor”, when incoming information passes almost entirely, bypassing the criticality barrier. Moreover, in this case, the transition into consciousness of both their preconscious and from the unconscious occurs just as quickly. This means that we will no longer have to wait long, as in the case of the natural transition of information from the subconscious to consciousness, when such information begins its transition only when it finds a “response in the soul,” i.e. only when, clinging to similar information currently available in consciousness (temporary information, because any information in consciousness does not last long, and after time, from operative memory it enters long-term memory) it enters there. In the case of overcoming resistance, such information arrives immediately, changing the person’s worldview, because in this case consciousness is actively involved, and if something is realized by a person, it is accepted as a guide to action.

It is also necessary to say that any kind of information passing by the consciousness and subconscious of the individual, i.e. falling under the spectrum of action of its representational system (auditory, visual, and kinesthetic) and two signaling systems (feelings and speech) is invariably deposited in the subconscious. This means that ultimately it begins to influence the individual’s consciousness, because everything that is in the subconscious affects consciousness, the emergence of corresponding thoughts, desires, and actions in the individual. That is, in this case we can talk about modeling a person’s actions through the initial formation of the unconscious of his psyche. And this is a truly serious issue, attention to which would allow us to avoid many problems, including and in raising children and adults. Moreover, in a situation with a child, it becomes possible to calculate it adult behavior , and in the case of an adult, it should be said that such an influence can begin to have its effect, incl. and in a fairly short period of time. The presence of the object among other people especially enhances the schemes originally embedded in the subconscious, i.e. when we talk about mass behavior. In the case of the latter, the mechanisms of mass and crowd are activated (in this case we do not separate these concepts), which means the effect is much more effective than in the case of preliminary influence on one individual. At the same time, as a result of our influence on the object, we should achieve a state of empathy, when the internal world of the object is perceived by us as our own. Professor Carl Rogers wrote about empathy: “To be in a state of empathy means to perceive the inner world of another accurately, with the preservation of emotional and semantic nuances. It’s as if you become that other person, but without losing the “as if” feeling. Thus, you feel the joy or pain of another as he feels them, and you perceive their causes as he perceives them. But there must definitely remain a shade of “as if”: as if it were me who was happy or sad. If this shade disappears, then a state of identification arises... The empathic way of communicating with another person has several facets. It implies entering the personal world of another and staying in it “at home.” It involves constant sensitivity to the changing experiences of another - to fear, or anger, or emotion, or embarrassment, in a word, to everything that he or she experiences. This means temporarily living another life, delicately staying in it without evaluation and condemnation. This means grasping what the other is barely aware of himself. But at the same time, there are no attempts to reveal completely unconscious feelings, since they can be traumatic. This involves communicating your impressions of another's inner world by looking with fresh and calm eyes at those elements that excite or frighten your interlocutor. This involves asking the other person frequently to check your impressions and listening carefully to the answers you receive. You are a confidant for another. By pointing out possible meanings to another's experiences, you help them experience more fully and constructively. To be with another in this way means to put aside one's own points of view and values ​​for a while in order to enter into the other's world without prejudice. In a sense, this means that you are leaving your Self. This can only be accomplished by people who feel safe enough in a certain sense: they know that they will not lose themselves in the sometimes strange or bizarre world of another and that they can successfully return to their world whenever they want.

Psychoanalysis understands resistance as everything that prevents the penetration into the consciousness of an individual’s secret (deep, unconscious) thoughts. E. Glover identified explicit and implicit forms of resistance. By the first in psychoanalytic work, he understood lateness, missed sessions, excessive talkativeness or complete silence, automatic denial or misunderstanding of all statements of the psychotherapist, playing at naivety, constant absent-mindedness, interruption of therapy. He attributed everything else to the second (implicit forms), for example, when the patient formally fulfills all the working conditions, but at the same time his indifference is clearly noticeable.

The classification of types of resistance (according to Freud) includes: repression resistance, transference resistance, id and superego resistance, and resistance based on secondary benefit from the disease. Resistance occurs when the individual’s psyche resists the penetration into consciousness of any painful information from the subconscious. At the same time, according to J. Sandler, Dare et al., this type of resistance can be considered a reflection of the so-called. “primary benefit” from the disease neurosis. As a result of the method of free associations, information previously hidden in the unconscious can come out (pass into consciousness), therefore the psyche resists this - by engaging (activating) resistance mechanisms. Moreover, the closer the material previously repressed from consciousness (and transferred to the subconscious) approaches consciousness, the more resistance increases.

Transference resistance characterizes infantile impulses and the fight against them. Infantile impulses are understood as impulses caused by the personality of the analyst and arising in direct or modified form: the analytical situation in the form of a distortion of reality in certain moment promotes the recall of previously repressed material (material that, once in the unconscious, caused a neurotic symptom).

Transference resistance varies depending on which transference relations (positive or negative) underlie it. Patients with an erotic transference (for example, with a hysterical type of personality organization) may strive for a sexual relationship with the therapist or demonstrate resistance in order to avoid awareness of a strong sexual desire in such a transference. Patients with a negative transference (for example, with a narcissistic type of personality organization) are filled with aggressive feelings towards the therapist and may strive through resistance to humiliate him, make him suffer, or in the same way avoid the transference awareness of these feelings.

“It” resistance is characteristic of cases when negative and eroticized forms of transference become an insoluble obstacle to continuing therapy. At the same time, Freud considered the resistance of the Superego (“Super-Ego”) to be the strongest, since it is difficult to identify and overcome. It stems from an unconscious sense of guilt and hides impulses that the patient finds unacceptable (for example, sexual or aggressive). One of the manifestations of superego resistance is a negative therapeutic reaction. Those. the patient, despite the clearly successful result of the treatment, has a very negative attitude towards both the therapist and the manipulations performed on him. At the same time, just from the awareness of such nonsense mental health worsens because it is known that for our psyche it is virtually indifferent whether an event actually happens, in reality, or whether it scrolls only in a person’s thoughts. The brain will receive impulses from such an impact that are identical and almost equivalent in terms of involvement and activation of neurons.

As a result of psychotherapy, resistance may be observed based on the so-called. “secondary” benefit, i.e. when the patient benefits from his “disease”. In this case, we see a clear trace of the masochistic accents of the psyche of a neurotic individual, because the patient likes it when people feel sorry for him, and he does not want to get rid of the support provided to him “as a patient.”

The conditional scheme for working with resistance is as follows:

1) recognition (it is necessary for resistance to be noticed not only by the therapist, but also by the patient);

2) demonstration (any type of resistance noticed in the patient is verbally demonstrated in order to draw the patient’s attention to it);

3) clarifying resistance (which involves confronting what the patient is avoiding, why he is doing it and how).

After clarifying the cause of resistance, its form is analyzed. The result of this stage is the discovery of an instinctive urge, the attempt to satisfy which led to conflict. After this, the history of the experience is revealed through the method of interpretation. At this stage, it becomes clear how the conflict arose, how it manifested itself and is manifesting itself throughout the patient’s life, what patterns of behavior and emotional response it gave rise to, etc. The history of the experience allows us to include the identified conflict in the broader context of obstacles at this stage of psychodynamic therapy. At the same time, the therapist must remember that criticism or disagreement with something by the patient does not always mean a manifestation of resistance.

At the conclusion of therapy for working with resistance, resistance is worked through, which is a tracing of the influence of an already realized conflict on various life events in order to repeat, deepen, and expand the analysis of resistance. Elaboration allows you to enhance your understanding of the client by increasing the amount of material involved. This is also where the interpretation of new resistances that arise occurs, which further clarifies the basic issues and leads to more sustainable results. This stage is not limited in time; its duration depends on the individual characteristics of the patient, the form and content of resistance, the stage of psychotherapy, the state of the working alliance and many other factors.

And finally, I would like to once again draw attention to the fact that the activity of resistance is an unconscious act, and thus it turns out to be logical that if we want to unravel the nature of man, the nature of his psyche, to unravel the mechanisms of mental control, we will certainly first turn should pay attention to it unconscious reactions, by analyzing and comparing various facts, to reveal what a person is hiding, and therefore, subsequently, such methods can bring us even closer to the path of understanding the human psyche, will help reveal the mechanisms of the psyche, how to trace certain human reactions, and identify the mechanisms the occurrence of impulses, the consequences of which are these reactions. That is, we are saying that analysis, carrying out analytical work, paying attention to every little detail is absolutely important, because it is they who will ultimately allow us to collect the most complete picture about the psyche of this or that individual, and therefore, subsequently, to find out (develop, identify, etc.) mechanisms of influence both on such an individual and on society as a whole, for society consists precisely of various individuals who, uniting in masses, collectives, meetings, congresses, processes, symposiums, crowds, etc. . forms of association of people are part of the environment. For the environment is precisely represented incl. and the constant unification and separation of people, this process is fluid like mercury, the mass is changeable and fickle not only in its desires and interests, but also in the composition of participants, etc. Thus, the solution to the psyche of each individual person can bring us closer to the secrets and clues of society, and therefore to the development of a methodology for managing a person, modeling his thoughts and projecting such thoughts into actions.

© Sergey Zelinsky, 2008
© Published with the kind permission of the author

People, they are like “hedgehogs” - they also prick and snort, defending themselves...
Maria, 27 years old

There are always “two forces” in a person. On the one hand, the desire to solve your psychological problem (even if it is not realized, nevertheless, the soul strives to solve it). And on the other hand, there is resistance to this solution to the problem (or resistance to psychocorrectional or psychotherapeutic help). The fact is that any solution to a problem is often accompanied by unpleasant or even painful mental sensations. When a psychologist begins to help a person, he is forced to delve deep into the soul. The soul hurts, but psychology has not yet come up with a simple and effective pain reliever for the soul. On initial stage The work of a psychologist evokes in the client unpleasant emotions, traumatic memories, affects, feelings and impulses that were previously hidden in the unconscious, but in connection with psychological work begin to emerge in consciousness. Therefore, going to a psychologist for help is a courageous step. Making it unusual, painful, scary and often financially expensive. Only after several sessions does the client experience an incomparable feeling of spiritual lightness, joy and comfort. This state is so amazing that those who have experienced it stop being “afraid” of going to a psychologist.

Psychological assistance is always the work of two parties - the psychologist and the client. Miracles at a glance with a magic wand does not happen in psychology. Therefore, the client is required to work no less on his problem than the psychologist. Only this work is different - from the psychologist it is required attentiveness, competence, determination and efficiency of work, and from the client sincerity, hard work and accuracy in the implementation of psychological techniques and instructions for independent work. WITHOUT THE CLIENT'S WORK THERE WILL BE NO RESULTS FROM THE PSYCHOLOGIST'S WORK! True, the client is not required to have knowledge and skills, but only cooperation. But without this, a “miracle” will not happen even for the “greatest” specialist. It is impossible to FORCE a client to change. You can only ACHIEVE POSITIVE CHANGES TOGETHER. The first difficulty on the path to getting rid of the problem is overcoming the client's psychological resistances and defenses (in his own interests). In general terms, psychological resistances and defenses are forces in the client’s psyche that oppose the help of a psychologist and the solution of the client’s psychological problems. In fact, the client is trying to avoid mental pain because the pain will be “here and now”, and the result of help and solving the problem “is unknown when and then”. The client who has overcome pain and fear in his soul receives a well-deserved reward: he begins to respect himself and takes the first step towards the joy of life.

So, psychological defense protects any person from psychological pain. The cause of pain may be in the past, for example, psychological trauma, difficult memories, bitterness of loss. The reason may lie in the present: the directly occurring situation outside and current processes within the human psyche. The reason may be related to the future, for example, expectations of bad things, hypothetical fears, worries about possible events and consequences. Nature created these defenses for immediate psychological self-help (approximately as a response to physical pain, illness or injury in the body). However, psychological defenses ONLY PROTECT, BUT DO NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM AND DO NOT PROVIDE HELP, THEY HELP TO HOLD ON UNTIL HELP COME. If you leave a person with protection, but do not give help for a long time, then he becomes strange, inadequate, complex, etc. Because the defenses fulfilled their function: they protected from psychological pain in a difficult situation, but they did not create psychological comfort and they are not suitable for life in a prosperous situation. It’s the same as going everywhere “in armor”: to work, on vacation, visiting friends, and sleeping in armor, and eating in armor, and showering in armor, etc. It’s inconvenient for yourself, it’s strange for those around you, it enslaves you and makes you unfree. AND THE MOST IMPORTANT THING: IT WILL NOT CHANGE YOUR LIFE FOR THE BETTER. YOU JUST ADJUSTED.

Typical cases after which psychological defenses and resistance appear.

1. Past psychological trauma (for example, severe stress).

2. Unpleasant memories (for example, grief from loss).

3. Fear of any failures (fear of possible failure).

4. Fear of any changes (inflexibility in adapting to new things).

5. The desire to satisfy one’s childhood needs (psychological infantilism in adults).

6. Secondary psychological benefit from one’s illness or condition (despite the obvious damage).

7. Too strict “hard” consciousness, when it punishes a person with incessant suffering for real and imaginary offenses (as a rule, the result of upbringing).

8. Reluctance to change a “comfortable” social position to an “inconvenient” one - to be active, to work on oneself, to be sexy, to be socially adaptive, to earn more, to change a partner, etc.

9. Increased level psychological sensitivity, anxiety and neuroticism (may be a consequence of a weak type of nervous system).

In these and many other cases, a person becomes acutely sensitive to psychological pain and builds ingenious defenses to avoid psychological pain. But this doesn't solve the problem. A person lives “in armor,” often to his own detriment and for the amusement of those around him. A good psychologist helps to remove these “armor” of psychological defenses as quickly and safely as possible. The ultimate goal is to learn to live and enjoy a free life without "armor", but to maintain your security.

What are the consequences of psychological defenses if the psychological problem is not addressed?

1. First, the adaptability of behavior is lost, i.e. the person behaves inappropriately to the situation. Communicates worse. Limits his lifestyle or it becomes very specific, strange.

2. Further maladjustment increases. Psychosomatic diseases (diseases the root cause of which is emotional trauma) may occur. Internal tension and anxiety increase. The “script” of life begins to obey psychological protection from mental pain: a certain type of hobby, hobby, profession.

3. Lifestyle becomes a form of “painless self-psychotherapy.” A protective lifestyle becomes extremely important for a person. Thus, there is a constant denial of problems and aggravation of maladjustment and psychosomatic diseases.

What are the psychological defenses?

1. Channeling aggression towards other people (in verbal or behavioral form). Taking out aggression on other people can be not only a “bad habit” and “pedagogical neglect” in an adult, but also paradoxically indicate hidden insecurity and a hidden sense of guilt.

2. Repression - pushing painful memories and feelings, impulses from consciousness deep into the unconscious. The person simply “forgot”, “didn’t have time”, “didn’t do it”. So sometimes some raped women sincerely “forget” about this incident after a few years.

3. Denial - deliberately ignoring painful realities and acting as if they do not exist: “didn’t notice,” “didn’t hear,” “didn’t see,” “not urgent,” “I’ll put it off for later,” etc. A person ignores obvious reality and creates for himself an imaginary reality in which troubles do not exist. For example, main character In the novel Gone with the Wind, Scarlett said to herself: “I’ll think about it tomorrow.”

4. Formation of opposite reactions - exaggeration of one emotional aspect of the situation in order to use it to suppress the opposite emotion. For example, to be extremely punctual, but in fact the desire to be free with time. This happens, for example, with obsessive-compulsive neurosis (obsessive-compulsive neurosis).

5. Transfer (transfer, movement) - a change in the object of feelings (transfer from a real, but subjectively dangerous object to a subjectively safe one). An aggressive reaction to a strong person (for example, to a boss) is transferred from a strong person, who cannot be punished, to a weak one (for example, to a woman, a child, a dog, etc.). (The Japanese used this mental protection in the invention of punching dolls that replaced the boss). It is possible to transfer not only aggression, but also sexual desire, or even both sexual desire and aggression. A typical example is the transfer of sexual desire and aggression towards the psychotherapist, instead of expressing these emotions to the real object that caused these feelings.

6. Reverse feeling - a change in impulse, its transformation from active - into passive (and vice versa) - or a change in its direction (to oneself from another, or to another from oneself), for example, sadism - can turn into masochism, or masochism - into sadism.

7. Suppression (for example, with fears and phobias) - limiting thoughts or actions in order to avoid those that can cause anxiety and fears. This mental protection gives rise to various personal rituals (an amulet for an exam, certain clothes for self-confidence, etc.).

8. Imitation (identification with the aggressor) - imitation of what is understood as the aggressive manner of external authority. Children criticizing their parents in their own aggressive manner. Imitate the behavior of your boss at home with your family.

9. Asceticism - denying oneself pleasures with an air of one's own superiority.

10. Rationalization (intellectualization) - excessive reasoning as a way of experiencing conflicts, long discussions (without experiencing the affect associated with the conflict), a “rational” explanation of the reasons for what happened, which in fact has nothing to do with a rational explanation.

11. Isolation of affect - almost complete suppression of feelings associated with a particular thought.

12. Regression - psychological return to an early age (crying, helplessness, smoking, alcohol and other infantile reactions)

13. Sublimation - transfer of one type of psychic energy into another: sex - into creativity; aggression - into political activity.

14. Splitting is an inadequate separation of positive and negative in assessments of oneself and others, the inner world and the external situation. Often there is a sharp change in “+” and “-” assessments of oneself and others, assessments become unrealistic and unstable. They are often opposites, but exist in parallel. "On the one hand, of course... and on the other hand, undoubtedly..."

15. Devaluation - reducing the important to a minimum and contemptuously denying it. For example, denial of love.

16. Primitive idealization - exaggeration of the power and prestige of another person. This is how idols are created.

17. Omnipotence is an exaggeration own strength. Bragging about your connections, influential acquaintances, etc.

18. Projection - endowing another person with one’s own psychological characteristics. Attributing one's own desires, emotions, etc. to another. For example: “Now anyone is ready to walk over corpses for money and power!”

19. Projective identification is a projection onto another, over whom the person then tries to establish control. For example, projecting one's hostility onto others and expecting the same from them.

20. Repression - suppression of desires (one's own or others').

21. Escapism - avoiding a painful situation. This can manifest itself literally, i.e. Behaviorally, a person can physically run away from a situation (from communication, from a meeting), or maybe indirectly - avoid certain topics of conversation.

22. Autism - deep withdrawal into oneself (exit from the “game of life”).

23. Reactive formation - replacing a behavior or feeling with the opposite behavior or feeling as a reaction to severe stress.

24. Introjection is the uncritical assimilation of other people's beliefs and attitudes.

25. Fanaticism is an imaginary fusion of the desired and the actual.

This is not a complete list of all psychological defenses, but these are the most striking and common reactions. In any case, these reactions do not free a person from a psychological problem, but only temporarily protect them and make it possible to “psychologically survive” in a critical situation. If you have discovered these psychological defenses in yourself, your loved ones or friends, there is reason to think about how constructive the behavior is. this person. It is quite possible that by putting on the “armor” of psychological defenses, he deprives himself of spiritual comfort and joy of life. Most likely, the attention, care and competence of a good psychologist can help this person achieve the fulfillment of his deepest desires.

Differences in models and techniques of psychoanalysis, however, do not reduce the value of many basic problems depth psychology personality. These problems are transference and resistance.

Transfer (transfer) is the process by which unconscious desires are transferred to certain objects within the framework of a certain type of relationship established with these objects.

In psychology, this personal transfer (transfer) is interpreted as a copy of those impulses and fantasies that are awakened and realized in the process of psychoanalysis; it is characterized by the replacement of a previously familiar personality with the personality of a doctor.
Transference occurs in all human relationships; it is natural. Freud gradually realized this and identified transference as an important part of the psychoanalytic process. The common denominator of all transference phenomena is repetition. Freud's model of the analytical process is expressed in the triad of “memory, repetition, elaboration.”
In this sense, transfer is considered as a repetition, or a new “edition” of old object relations, i.e. there is a movement: impulses, feelings and defenses in relation to the person in the past move to the person in the present, i.e. from “there and then” to “here and now”.

Transference occurs when the patient is capable of regression (but partial and reversible). Freud believed that psychoanalysis is indicated for patients with transference neurosis, i.e. with the ability to regress, but at the same time live in the real world (narcissistic individuals are not capable of this).

Transference neurosis is a set of transference reactions in which analysis and the analyst become the center of the patient’s emotional life, and the neurotic conflict comes to life in the analytical situation. The transference neurosis is resolved through analysis.

Typical manifestations of transfer reactions are:

Inappropriateness, i.e. inadequacy of the manifestation of a reaction to an object in the present (a 30-year-old woman behaves like a 5-year-old girl).

Intensity - excessiveness of the reaction is seen as a transference property combined with inappropriateness.

Ambivalence is the coexistence and alternation of opposite feelings (love and hatred, desires and aversions, etc.).

Impermanence - instability, chaoticity, disorder of reactions (changeable nature of reactions).

Durability - duration of implementation time.

The main elements of the transfer are: object relations, affecting three people - the subject, the object of the past, the object of the present; repetition, displacement - displacement of feelings, fantasies from an object or image in the past to an object or image in the present; regression - the implementation of repetition by moving to earlier stages of development of object relations.

Clinical classification of transfer reactions:

1. Classification of S. Freud.

Positive transference is an attitude that manifests itself in reactions of sympathy, love, respect and sexual desire towards the analyst. Non-sexual, non-romantic positive relationships promote a working alliance.

Negative transference is feelings that are based on hatred in any of its forms (anger, hostility, mistrust, contempt, envy, etc.).

2. Classification from the point of view of object relations.

It includes the paternal transference, the maternal transference, the transference based on fixation on the brother, etc. Transference reactions are determined by unconscious feelings towards father, mother, etc. The most difficult to analyze, according to Ralph Greenson, are - for women - primitive love for the mother, and for men - primitive hatred of the mother as cases that contradict the natural disposition of the Electra and Oedipa.

3. Classification according to the criterion of libidinal phases:

Oral transference - accompanied by the “absorption” of the analyst’s words, phrases, fear of separation (“the sound of the voice resembles the smell of coffee”);

Anal transference is accompanied by a reaction to questions as the need to produce something (answers), evaluates its associations as precious material, and the analyst’s interpretations as implementation or relief. Concerns about autonomy, shame, cleanliness, stinginess; the phallic transference is accompanied by incestuous love and castration fear.

4. Transference from the point of view of the structure of the psyche:

The analyst may represent a superego figure (critical, denying, negative);

Id (the patient projects the desires of the Id onto the analyst, perceiving him as seducing, aggressive, etc.);

Ego (considers it from his point of view from the point of view of reality, asks the questions “What would my analyst do now?” “What would he say in this situation?”).

Resistance is opposition to analysis; it is the patient's forces that oppose the procedures and processes of psychoanalysis.

In the work of S. Freud and I. Breuer “On Hysteria” (1893-1895), the authors (primarily Freud himself) made discoveries of resistance and transference. When treating the patient Elisabeth von R. in 1892, the term “resistance” was first used. Freud explains this mechanism by saying that the patient "drives away" incompatible ideas. Moreover, the force of resistance is proportional to the amount of energy with which these ideas try to penetrate into associations. In those years, Freud talked about overcoming resistance with the help of pressure on the forehead, perseverance, etc.
By 1904 resistance becomes one of cornerstones his theories. Hypnosis, suggestion, and response were eliminated in favor of free association. Gradually, Freud ceases to consider resistance as a hindrance and comes to the idea that resistance is a source of deep knowledge about the patient and his symptoms.
Modern psychoanalysis generalizes and develops the ideas of Freud and his followers, describing the clinical manifestations of resistance, types of resistance and the technique of its analysis.

Clinical manifestations of resistance are:

1. The patient’s silence, which is often seen as a repetition of the past, where it was the main reaction to a traumatic event. The analyst may ask questions: “What can nothing in your head do?”, “What is your silence about?”

2. The patient's lack of ability to narrate.

3. Lack of emotions during the story, dry, monotonous, inexpressive speech. Words and feelings do not correspond to each other.

4. Body clamps, rigid posture, stiffness of movements, contradiction between expressive and verbal behavior, clenched hands, crossed legs.

5. Fixation in time - the patient talks only about one time - past, present, etc.

6. Fixation on external, unimportant, insignificant events.

7. Avoiding topics.

8. Rigidity, repetition of the same words, actions, for example, each session begins with the same topic, symptoms.

9. Specific language - the use of clichés, technical terms or sterile language (instead of "I was furious" the phrase "I would have felt hostile" is used). Examples of cliches: “Indeed” and “true”, “Honestly”, “I believe”, “You know”, etc.

10. Lateness, missed sessions. Forgetfulness when paying.

11. Lack of dreams - resistance to the process of remembering. Dreaming is one of the most important forms approach to the unconscious, to the patient's instinctive life, and forgetting dreams - indicates the patient's struggle with the exposure of his unconscious.

12. External action, when the patient talks about the material of the analytic session with someone other than the analyst.

13. Private fun sessions. During the meeting, the patient may experience a feeling of pleasure. However, the psychotherapeutic process is more of a chore than a pleasant, comfortable pastime, so constant fun is seen as a sign of resistance.

Classification of resistances.
There are several options for classifying resistance. We point out only one of them. Resistance is divided into alien egos (ego-dystonic) and familiar egos (ego-syntonic). Ego-dystonic resistances are easy to work with, they can be analyzed and, as a result, make it possible to establish a working alliance.
Ego-syntonic resistances are more difficult for both analyst and patient to recognize and therefore more difficult to establish a working alliance. At the beginning of the analysis, they work with ego-dystonic resistances, and after establishing a working alliance - with ego-syntonic ones.