What is Defense Mechanism

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbates the difficulties of psychology support in the domain of pediatric oncology, given the risks of infecting children who present a defect in their immune response. Adopting the right precautionary measures, the play-based intervention can be a powerful tool for the child, affected by oncological and onco-hematological pathologies, to understand the medical environment and counteract isolation through socialization and distraction. The present study explores quantitatively and qualitatively the experience of six psychologists that conducted play-based interventions to support children with cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy. Descriptive data about the stress levels and emotional states experienced by the psychologists will be presented. Psychologists' focus group outcomes are also discussed in the form of three thematic categories: (1) fear of infecting patients, (2) adultization of children related to precautionary behaviors, and (3) parental defense mechanisms.