Malan's map of internal conflict: wish or feeling activates anxiety, anxiety activates defense, and defense blocks the feeling while maintaining symptoms.
Step-by-step guide
- Identify the wish or feeling
- Track the anxiety signal
- Name the defense
- Show the sequence to the client
- Return to the feeling at a tolerable pace
When to use
- When symptoms are linked to avoided affect
- When the client moves into defense
- When the therapist needs a simple dynamic formulation
Key phrases
Here we can see the conflict: feeling, anxiety, and defense.
Follow-up questions
What feeling is being avoided?
What defense comes in when anxiety rises?
Alternative phrasings
Let us locate the symptom on the triangle.
This defense protects you from a feeling, but it also keeps the conflict alive.
Warnings
- ⚠️ Do not turn the triangle into a lecture
- ⚠️ Do not confront defenses without alliance
- ⚠️ Do not ignore anxiety tolerance
Materials are informational and educational and summarize publicly available scientific sources. They are not medical or psychological advice, are not intended for self-diagnosis or self-treatment, and do not replace consultation with a qualified professional.