Dissociative Disorders

Question 1

What is
Dissociation?

Answer 1

-Disconnect between thoughts,
memories, feelings, actions, and
sense of self
Mild dissociation is normal
Severity is on a continuum

Question 2

Trauma and Dissociative
Disorders

Answer 2

Emphasis on early childhood trauma, disruptions in
attachment and caregiving
exposure to trauma can lead to dissociation as a coping mechanism.
Excessive use can be detrimental
Neuroimaging reveals structural brain changes similar
yet different than PTSD
Traumatic experiences that result in psychological
sequelae
individuals who have experienced trauma may develop dissociative symptoms as a way to mentally escape from the overwhelming or distressing experiences**

Question 3

Dissociative Identity Disorders (300.14)

Answer 3

-Involves discontinuity in sense of self and agency, alterations in affect, behavior, memory, and more.
-Recurrent gaps in the
recall of:
Everyday events
Important personal information
Traumatic events
-Impacts to important
areas of functioning
-Not attributable to
culturally accepted norms or
religious pracrtices
- Not attributable to
physiological effects of
substances (e.g blackouts) or
medical conditions

Question 4

Depersonalization/Derealization

Answer 4

-Depersonalization (experiencing a sense of detachment or disconnection from oneself, one’s thoughts, feelings, sensations, or actions)
-derealization(experiencing a sense of detachment or unreality regarding the external world or one’s surroundings.)
-Criteria for DDD include persistent experiences, intact reality testing, distress or impairment, and exclusions.
-During episodes, reality testing remains intact
Patients retain the knowledge that their unreal experiences
are not real but rather are rather their subjective experience
–Causes clinically significant distress or impairment to
important areas of functioning
-Not attributable to effects of a substance
-Early onset
Avg age is 16 yrs

Question 5

What are the possible causes or factors contributing to the development of DID?

Answer 5

-associated with a history of severe trauma, typically occurring in childhood
**-early trauma onset, abuse, neglect, sustained trauma, or torture **are considered significant risk factors for the development of DID
-

Question 6

What is dissociative identity disorder (DID), and how does it differ from other
dissociative disorders?

Answer 6

(DID) is a mental health condition characterized by the presence of two or more distinct identities or personality states within an individual.
-it specifically involves the presence of** distinct identities or personality states, along with memory gaps and significant impacts on functioning.**

Question 7

Identify the differences in positive versus negative dissociation symptoms

Answer 7

Positive dissociation symptoms involve the presence of additional experiences or sensations, such as feeling detached from reality or having altered perceptions.
**-negative **dissociation symptoms involve the absence or disruption of normal experiences or functions, like memory gaps or identity disturbances.

Question 8

Individuals suffering from dissociative disorders may suffer from discontinuity of?

Answer 8

-rom discontinuity of consciousness, memory, or perception.
-disconnect between thoughts, memories, feelings, actions, and one’s sense of self
-

Question 9

Define depersonalization and derealization. What is the diagnostic criteria for the
disorder?

Answer 9

-Depersonalization involves feelings of detachment from one’s thoughts and a sense of being an outside observer of oneself.
-Derealization, on the other hand, is characterized by feelings of detachment from the surroundings and a sense of the environment being unreal
-persistent experiences of depersonalization and/or derealization, intact reality testing (awareness that these experiences are not indicative of psychosis), and clinically significant distress or impairment in daily functioning.

Question 10

Other Specified Dissociative Disorder

Answer 10

mix of dissociative symptoms not meeting specific disorder criteria, including identity disturbance and stress reactions

Question 11

Unspecified Dissociative Disorders

Answer 11

involves some dissociative characteristics without meeting full disorder criteria, showing symptoms but not enough for a specific diagnosis.