[Theory and methods of clinical assessment of defense mechanisms]

Originally, defense theories had been developed as metapsychological categories. Applied to empirical investigations, however, defense theories have to be adapted to the specific empirical design. A clinical and an empirical theory on defense, for which the same terms are often used, are by no means identical. The clinical and empirical terms have to be matched. An empirical theory on defense should correspond not only to metapsychological categories but be adequate for the research object. Among the most common empirical procedures, clinical ratings of defense mechanisms come closest to clinical judgements, but entail methodological problems. Group ratings underly dynamic group processes which are difficult to control and thus imply a risk. The advantage of such a rating, however, is that affective processes within the rating team may be seen as an extended observational instrument. Despite their methodological restrictions, consensus ratings may be seen as an instrument the further development of which is worthwhile.