Abnormal Psychology Chapter 7 -- Dissociative Disorders

What are the 3 dissociative disorders?

Dissociative amnesia

Depersonalization disorder

Dissociative identity disorder (DID)

What is dissociation?

A disconnect between emotions, thoughts, environment

What is Dissociative Amnesia?

a total or partial loss of personal info or memory of an event

What are the different types of amnesia?

Localized amnesia

Dissociative Fugue

What is Localized Amnesia?

complete loss of memory within a specific time frame (like some murderers claim that they remember attacking the victim but don’t remember the actual killing)

**Selective amnesia

Repressed memories

sometime psychologists can put patient under hypnosis and can “retrieve lost memories” that were suppressed.

False memories can also happen if psychologists suggest what may have happened, and then the patient believes that what actually did happen

What is Dissociative Fugue?

confusion that can lead to aimless wandering

can have amnesia about their amnesia

recovery is abrupt and fast

What is Depersonalization/ Derealization disorder?

unreality (depersonalization) and detachment from body (de realization)

emotional numbing

occur with mood/ anxiety disorders

What is DID?

more than 2 personality states present in one body

1 personality at a time

personalities can be aware of each other

switch personalities during high stress situations

Why is there controversy in a DID diagnosis?

the number of personalities have increased from 3 → 12

onset of symptoms has started later (aged 11 vs 20)

physicians can’t agree on the prevalence (rare or common)

How is DID diagnosed?

self-report

traumatic experiences

Psychological dimension: DID

psychodynamic theory

patients use repression to block trauma

DID develops because patient didn’t have a supportive environment growing up

(seen in The Sum of My Parts): childhood memories walled off and there are different memory system (adult and childhood)

Soc/ Sociocultural Dimension: DID

iatrogenic disorder: unintentionally produced by therapist; power of suggestion

Sociocognitive model of DID: created by doctors and the media

What is the treatment for DID?

counseling (working through traumatic memories)

hypnosis

personality reconstruction; integrating all the different personalities into the one main personality

** full remission is hard

Are there medication to help with DID?

No, not specifically for DID

Meds can treat conmorbid conditions like depression/ anxiety

Treating amnesia and fugue

they generally disappear on their own

in the case of fugue, person can assume new identity and forget all about their old life

fugue cases can also recover completely, and very fast

Treatment of Depersonalization disorder

patients recover on their own

if there is underlying anxiety, that can be treated with meds