Psychodynamics and cyclic intervention
A psychodynamic defence can form a vicious cycle linking (1) a dread, (2) a defence against the dread, and (3) the damage resulting from the defence, which amplifies the dread. In this amplifying feedback cycle:
- an increase in dread tends to
- Increase the defence against the dread, which tends to
- Increase the damage caused by the defence, which tends to
- Increase the dread.
The Cyclic intervention
The cyclic intervention that I used in the counselling session with client Zed followed this form, when you take his dread to be his need for respect, and his defence to be gambling.
Here is a brief overview of the cyclic dynamic that emerged during the session with Zed.
Zed’s life had become dominated by a vicious cycle, an amplifying feedback loop in which:
- Zed gambled more to experience the exhilaration of respect during his winning streaks; however, this tended to
- Increase the damage caused by his gambling, including losing money and the respect at home and at work, which tended to
- increase his need for respect, which tended to
- increase his gambling again, although things like running out of money often paused his gambling and paused the escalation of his need for respect, and the gambling damage.
The method for generating and using the cyclic intervention is critical; the linked page describes the counselling session.
Psychodynamics
The book “Individual Therapy and the Science of Psychodynamics” (Malan, 1979, p.15) identifies central aspects of psychodynamic therapy:
- People’s consciousness of their defence mechanisms ranges from nearly fully conscious to totally unconscious. (Malan, p.15)
- People use defensive mechanisms to avoid something that they dread. (Weinburg (1995) uses the term dread.) There are three parts to these mechanisms:
- A hidden feeling, unacceptable impulse, mental pain, or mental conflict. (Dread)
- Anxiety: The feared consequences of expressing the hidden feelings.
- Defence: the way a person calms the anxiety.
- A defence can set up a damaging vicious circle [amplifying feedback cycle] between the person and others. (Malan, p.15)
- The therapist analyses the client’s situation, identifies the client’s defence mechanism, and presents this analysis to the client via interpretations.
- One form of interpretation is to draw links between two parts of a defence mechanism: dread, anxiety, and defence. (Malan, p.80)
- Therapy aims to connect the patient with “as much of his true feelings as he can bear” (Malan, p.74).
Note: You can read about David H Malan Psychoanalist on Wikipedia.
Gambling as a defence
Gambling can act as a defence. It involves recognised psychodynamic defences, including:
- Denial: Refusing to accept reality, e.g., denying gambling damage.
- Fantasy: Retreating into imagination to avoid reality, e.g., Zed’s conviction that he gained respect through his gambling.
- Repression: Pushing distressing thoughts into the unconscious, e.g., gambling and the problems it creates, can distract a gambler from their dread.
- Passive aggression: Indirect expression of hostility, e.g. a gambler losing food money to express anger towards a partner.
- Acting out: Expressing feelings through actions instead of words.
- Avoidance: Avoiding people, places, or situations linked to uncomfortable thoughts or feelings, e.g., avoiding home problems by taking time out at a gambling venue.
Some clients with gambling problems also become involved with alcohol, drugs, or criminal activity. Like gambling, these behaviours can also serve as defences against dread.
A defence as an illusory solution to a dread
Zed’s defence of gambling offered him an illusory solution to his dread: his mental pain of needing respect. When he was on a winning streak, he felt like a respected, socially successful professional gambler. He was so convinced of this that he had his symbols for gambling and respect engraved on his belt, and his face lit up with excitement when he started talking about gambling. As well as gambling being an illusory solution for his dread, he had another way of shielding himself.
A defence as a distraction from a dread
Zed’s gambling shielded him from his dread in a second way: distraction. His gambling distracted him from his awareness of his dread by capturing his full attention while he:
- gambled, e.g., deciding what horse to back and watching the races, and
- dealt with gambling crises, e.g., being broke, debt repayments, crime, and his arrest.
Often, I identified the client’s gambling as an escape or distraction from the client’s underlying problems, rather than identifying a sharply focused dread, such as needing respect. Clients found this understanding of their gambling a relief, and they continued counselling.
My intervention linked defence and dread.
A psychodynamic intervention can link two of the three elements of Malan’s triangle of conflict, which consists of (1) hidden feelings (dread), (2) defence, and (3) anxiety, where anxiety is the “feared consequences of expressing these hidden feelings”. (Malan, p. 15, p. 18).
I have never thought of my counselling as psychodynamic therapy. Nevertheless, my cyclic intervention had one feature of a psychodynamic intervention; it linked Zed’s defence (his gambling) and his dread (his conscious mental pain of needing respect).
Zed’s consciousness of his defence
People’s consciousness of a defence mechanism can range from nearly fully conscious to totally unconscious (Malan, p. 15).
Zed’s design of his belt showed how important both gambling and respect were to him, and his conviction that gambling won him respect. He was not conscious of two aspects of his gambling. He seemed to overlook how his gambling lost him respect at home and at work. Also, he found it a revelation that his gambling established a vicious cycle that escalated his gambling.
Rapport
Rapport refers to the degree of emotional connection between the patient and therapist. An increase in rapport shows that the therapist’s interpretation is appropriate, and vice versa (Malan, p. 20).
Initially, Zed seemed reluctant to be in my office. His surprising and positive response to the intervention showed that it deepened the rapport between us and that Zed was valuing the session.
Multiple dreads
A person often has multiple hidden feelings (Malan, p. 84).
During the counselling session, I wondered about other dreads that could be fuelling Zed’s gambling. He had stood rigid against his mother’s repeated suggestions that he see a doctor about his head injury, and I wondered whether he was frightened of what a doctor might say. I did not mention this in the session as I thought it could have alienated Zed.
The possibility was that gambling could have been defending him from the disturbing thought that something was wrong with his head. As a cycle, it looks like this.
| Defence: Zed gambles to feel like a smart professional gambler |
| More Damage: Zed sees the craziness of his gambling |
|
|
| |
|
|
| More Dread: Something is wrong with my head |
In this amplifying cycle:
- Zed hated to imagine that something was wrong with his head. This dread would tend to
- Increase his defence of gambling, which made him feel smart, like a skilled professional gambler, when he was winning, which tended to
- Increase the gambling damage, eventually leading him to steal, which tended to
- Increase his dread about something being wrong with his head.
Wind up
Malan’s psychodynamic model, especially his “triangle of conflict”, involves working through layers of defences and anxiety to reach the underlying hidden feelings and impulses (dreads).
The cyclic intervention presented here is grounded in psychodynamic concepts and was an effective means of establishing rapport and exploring the factors driving the client’s presenting problem.
Reference
Malan, D. (1979). Individual Therapy and the Science of Psychodynamics, Cambridge: Butterworths.
Related pages
Link to all the counselling pages on this site
*Link.
Loaded 6 Dec 2025; Updated 6 Dec 2025