Mdedge Psychcast

David H. Rosmarin, PhD, joins Lorenzo Norris, MD, to discuss how to think about the concept of denial and its role in the sociopolitical challenges of our society. Dr. Rosmarin is a clinical psychologist and director of the spirituality and mental health program at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Mass. He also is an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, Boston. Dr. Rosmarin has no disclosures. Dr. Norris has no disclosures. Take-home points Denial is defined as a cognitive and emotional process by which a person avoids facing aspects of reality, especially when it is difficult to assimilate the details of reality into one’s current thinking. Arguably, denial is a coping or defense mechanism meant to address the tension that arises from trying to change an individual’s current way of thinking and understanding of reality. Another form of denial is choosing to focus only on one’s perception of reality and struggling to see the other side of an argument. We can see this form of denial play ou