Dissociative Disorders

Question 1

Dissociative Identity Disorder

Answer 1

Disruption of identity characterized by two or more personality states

• discontinuity in sense of self and sense of agency
• related alterations in affect, behavior, consciousness, memory, perception, contention, and/or sensory motor functioning

Recurrent gaps in the recall of everyday events, important personal information, and/or traumatic events

Question 2

Dissociative Amnesia

Answer 2

Inability to recall important autobiographical information, usually of a traumatic or stressful nature, that is inconsistent with ordinary forgetting

Question 3

Depersonalization/Derealization Disorder

Answer 3

Presence of persistent or recurrent experiences of:

Depersonalization - experiences of unreality, detachment, or being an outside observer with respect to one’s thoughts, feelings, sensations, body, or actions
[perceptual alterations, distorted sense of time, unreal or absent self, emotional and/physical numbing]

Derealization - experiences of unreality or detachment with respect to surroundings
[objects experienced as unreal, dreamlike, foggy, lifeless, or visually distorted]

Reality testing remains intact

Question 4

Disorientation

Answer 4

Confusion with regard to person, time, or place

Question 5

Dissociation

Answer 5

Disturbance or change in the usually integrative functions of memory, identity, perception, or consciousness

Often seen in clients with history of trauma