1. Pacific Grove, California
www.beaconhouse.org

2. Denial Management
12 Ways We Lie to Ourselves and Others
& What We Can Do To Stop
Shari Corbitt, Psy.D.
sharicorbitt@gmail.com
310.848.5418

3. Denial is Natural ?!
 Denial is a normal, even healthy part of life.
 There is a crucial difference between “healthy” and
maladaptive denial. One allows us to function
effectively in the world while the other prevents us
from handles life’s problem’s effectively.
 Maladaptive denial minimizes consequences,
obvious to others but not the addict and at times
the related family members.

4. The 4 Levels of Denial
 Level 1 Lack of Information
 Level 2 Conscious Defensiveness
 Level 3 Unconscious Defensiveness
 Level 4 Delusion

5. The Big 5 Denial Types
 Avoidance (distraction, playing dumb, etc)
 Minimization
 Absolute Denial
 Rationalizing
 Blaming

6. The Little Seven
 Democratic Disease State
 Flight Into Health
 Manipulation
 Compliance
 Scared Straight
 Strategic Hopelessness
 Comparing

7. Final Thoughts
 Denial is not malingering.
 Denial cannot be effectively addressed through
arguing, threatening or giving ultimatums.
 Denial is best addressed through joining with the
individual through education of the various denial
patterns in a group format where shame is
minimized.
 All of us experience denial – whether we
experience process addictions and/or substance
use disorders or not.

8. Call 800.215.4733
24 hours a day, 7 days a week
www.beaconhouse.org
The Beacon House is fully licensed by the State of California and accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities
The Beacon House is a private, non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization