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Article

Nuclear Annihilation and the Mechanisms of Defense

Pages 217-224
Published online: 28 Dec 2017
 
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Aside from denial and “psychic numbing,” defense mechanisms consistent with the individual's personality emerge in response to the threat of nuclear annihilation. In the psychotherapeutic situation, therapist and client frequently collude in mutual defensiveness. Defensive responses were obtained from a number of persons following the television film, The Day After. It is suggested that certain aspects of society provide a context for the reinforcement of defenses against the anxiety of nuclear catastrophe and, further, that this anxiety be considered as fear based in reality.

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Paul Olsen

Paul Olsen, PhD, is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Institute for the Psychotherapies. He is in the private practice of psychotherapy in New York and is also an author and editor.