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Psychiatry residents, fellows and interns support Bethesda Mission

Residents, fellows and interns from the Department of Psychiatry at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center volunteer, in their free time, at the LionCare clinic operating at the Bethesda Mission in Harrisburg, providing no-cost medical and mental health services to underserved populations. In the interest of providing additional support for this service, the Psychiatry Residency, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship and Psychology Internship training programs participated in a combined community service project and trainee wellness event to raise funds for Bethesda Mission.

Trainees, paired in teams of two, competed to artistically depict a psychological defense mechanism. A defense mechanism is a mental process, like repression or projection, initiated, typically unconsciouly, to avoid conscious conflict or anxiety.

The art based on those defense mechanisms was displayed for voting; each vote cost $1, and all money raised was donated to the Mission. At the end of voting, the creators of the entry with the most votes received an extra half-day of continuing medical education time to use in the current academic year. The favorite entry, seen above, was by Tuna Hasoglu and Nuzhat Hussain, who depicted rationalization.

In addition, one person who voted for the winning entry was randomly chosen to receive a $5 meal voucher, courtesy of the Psychiatry Department, for use in any Medical Center eating establishment. That winner was Dr. Chris Petersen.

The effort raised a total of $309 for the clinic. The runners-up appear below.

A 3D piece of art shows a clothesline with messages hanging from it, a flower garden, a window and a large silver item in the center.

This depiction of the defense mechanism of intellectualization was created by Rabia Salman and Maryan Zulfiqar and received 101 votes.


A person holding up a mask is seen standing in front of an office door labeled Projective Identification - The Dark Side.

This depiction of projective identification, by Dr. Kathleen Dougherty and Jen Koser, received 31 votes.

A white mask is seen with text below that says What is Shown on the Outside is Different from What I Hide on the Inside.

This depiction of the isolation of affect psychological defense mechanism by Sean Nutting and Shehzad Siddique received 29 votes.

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