About This Resource: The DSM-IV Defensive Functioning Scale is a client psychoeducation tool used at Stafford & Associates Counseling to help people recognize the psychological defense mechanisms they rely on under stress. The interactive deck below organizes defenses into seven levels, from high-adaptive coping (like humor and anticipation) through neurotic-level distortions, to more dysregulated defenses such as denial, projection, and splitting. Understanding where a defense falls on this spectrum helps clients and therapists build insight into automatic coping patterns and work toward healthier, more flexible responses in individual and couples therapy.