The phobia of fusion is not specifically mentioned in the professional literature that talks about the classic phobias in DID treatment or it is mentioned as a phase 3 problem. I believe it is one way that the phobia of other parts and the phobia of traumatic memories shows up in our life. I will […]
theory
The Phobia of dissociative Parts
Avoiding other parts is common in the early phase of DID treatment. They don’t feel like something we would want to engage with. We might only know them as voices that insult us, overwhelming needs that flood us or outbursts that don’t match our value system. It doesn’t help that structural dissociation often creates opposite […]
The Phobia of Inner Experiences
In DID treatment, there is the concept of different ‘phobias’ that need to be overcome for recovery. The phobia of the inner experience is at the core of the first phase of treatment, stabilization, and needs quite a lot of time to master. What are ‘inner experiences’? Sometimes these are also called mental actions […]
About the alternative diagnostic criteria for DID (Dell)
One of my great pleasures in life is reading scientific discourse. Specifically, when great minds discuss scientific theories and approaches and everyone picks on the problems in each other’s theory or framework. If you like these things, please make sure to read Dissociation and the Dissociative Disorders, articles by various specialists collected by Paul […]
The potential problem with cPTSD criteria in the ICD-11
Trauma specialists have struggled for 3 decades to get the cPTSD diagnosis officially acknowledged in the major diagnostic manuals. And they succeeded in the ICD-11. It is a reason to celebrate. But some of the very same specialists who fought so hard are now expressing concerns about the precise diagnostic criteria that were used. While […]
The Reason for phase-oriented Treatment
The recommended way to do trauma treatment is in 3 phases. They have been called by slightly different names over the decades but the goal of the phases never changed. First there is stabilization, then a form of processing and finally a phase of reintegration and adapting to the changes. The phases are not […]
Techniques of science denial and DID
CN: this article mentions organized abuse, ritual abuse, mind control, abuser organizations, stigma and infuriating bullshit There is a lot of misinformation out there about DID. Some of it is based on a lack of knowledge and we can help by pointing towards scientific resources. In other situations, what we encounter is plain denial […]
The Problem with the Faux Window of Tolerance
We all know the model of the Window of Tolerance. There is an area of relaxed regulation, the polyvagal theory would call it the safe&social system or ventral vagal activation and we traditionally mark it in green. We can handle a bit of activation (yellow) without getting into a difficult situation. When stress gets […]
The difference between Ego States and dissociative parts
Ego State approaches are becoming more popular. People are reflecting on their own identity and notice that they actually aren’t one whole, they have ‘parts’. After the ‘Inner Child’ trend in the 80s we are experiencing a new trend where people talk about ‘their inner child’ or ‘their inner teenager’ in an Ego State context. […]
Dealing with trance logic in dissociative disorders
Trance logic describes logical glitches that can exist when people get hypnotized and enter a trance state. In that state of mind we can accept statements as true even though they deeply contradict each other. We simply don’t notice that they can’t possibly be true at the same time. Nothing is questioned or reality-checked, it […]
Classification of Dissociative Parts using Action Systems
The attempt to describe dissociative parts of the personality most accurately led to the incorporation of the concept of action systems into the theory. Action systems are considered the most basic subsystems of our human behavior. Actions toward the survival of the species, energy management, attachment, caretaking and social interaction, exploration, play, reproduction and […]
The Problem with the Definition of Dissociation
The world of science has a bit of a problem when it comes to the word ‘dissociation’. The definition isn’t clear anymore. Different categories of experiences all get labeled as ‘dissociation’ without adding a hint about what kind of dissociation is referred to. This very blog is guilty of it too. There is no […]