Projection, Repression, and Denial According to Sigmund Freud

  When we talk about defense mechanisms, we almost automatically visualize the face of Sigmund Freud. Some think his psychodynamic theory is now obsolete. However, assuming this is a mistake. In fact, processes such as projection, repression, and denial are a direct legacy of the Freudian school and have been inherited by the cognitive school. That said, their names have been changed. Defense mechanisms are now called irrational cognitions. They help us understand many of the mental schemas associated with anxiety. Although Albert Ellis and Aaron Beck, referents and promoters of cognitive-behavioral theory, initially rejected these unconscious mechanisms defined by…