On Finding Out How We Don't Know Ourselves in Therapy and Counselling. (On Defences, Part Three.)

So far in this series of posts on defence mechanisms we've covered the defence mechanisms of withdrawal and sublimation, and we've talked a little bit about how this relates to the counselling or psychotherapy process. For background, read prior posts. Otherwise, please read on for today's post on the defence mechanism of projection.

In popular culture in the West today, most of us have a basic understanding of the concept of projection. When faced with an impulse within ourselves that we see as unacceptable, we may project it out on to the other. This allows us to perceive the other as having that impulse, and thereby relieves ourselves of the conflict we feel over having an unacceptable impulse.

Whereas the defence of withdrawal, depending on severity, may range from unhealthy to fairly healthy, and sublimation is generally a healthy defence mechanism, projection is generally understood as a somewhat or very unhealthy defence mechanism. Projection has the capacity to significantly distort our view of reality, and our capacity to relate to others. Many counsellors or psychotherapists will try to help their clients to project less, and sometimes to instead adopt more healthy defence mechanisms. An example of this is someone who has become familiar with their tendency to project, and is able to reflectively question the truth or falsehood of their projection based on the facts of the present situation. This would be an example of replacing the defence of projection with the generally more healthy defence of intellectualisation. 

Some defences are used heavily by particular personality types. Projection is a good example of this. People with paranoid personality styles frequently project, in particular they project their anger and sense of judgement or hostility on to others. The paranoid person's tendency to vigilantly scan for any sign of untrustworthiness in others, and tendency to interpret facts in line with their projections, can make them very hard to establish intimate and trusting relationships with. On the other hand, a paranoid person is so sensitive and vigilant to signs of untrustworthiness in the other, that they can be excellent when this is an asset, such as in detective work or other jobs involving detecting fraud.

Another example of projection at work is in the case of bullying, in which the bully projects their own feared sense of vulnerability onto another, and then persecutes that other person. It can be useful for the bully and the bullied alike to understand what is being projected, and to not get tricked into missing the strength of the person being bullied, and the vulnerability of the bully.

As a psychotherapist, I often notice my clients projecting things on to me. (Though it is important to remind myself that often there is a grain of truth in a projection, so that I don't disown my own imperfections!) Usually, a client who projects something on to me will also project that same thing on to others, and that is usually part of the cause of the problem for which they sought therapy. Depending on the situation as a therapist I might help my client to see the inaccuracy of their projection, or, I might instead help my client to explore the full extent of this projection that might be harder for them to learn about in another context outside of the therapy room. 

It is not uncommon for clients in therapy to project boredom, judgement, criticism, or anger on to their therapists. By naming these perceptions to a therapist who is confident in working with projections, you may be able to significantly benefit your own therapeutic work. Sometimes people also project positive aspects of themselves such as generosity and competence on to others, because it may be disturbing to recognise these qualities in ourselves if we have a strong self image to the contrary. Though projecting our positive qualities on to others may not seem as problematic as projecting our negative qualities, it may have a negative impact on our self-esteem.