2. Introduction
• Dissociative disorders are defined by a disruption
in the usually integrated functions of
consciousness, memory, identity, or perception.
• Dissociative disorders are thought to be quite rare,
but when they do occur they may present a very
dramatic clinical picture of severe disturbance in
normal personality functioning.
• There is an increase in reported cases of amnesia.
3. Amnesia: Assessment
• Localized amnesia
– Inability to recall all incidents associated with the traumatic event for a
specific time period following the event.
• Selective amnesia
– Inability to recall only certain incidents associated with a traumatic
event for a specific period after the event.
• Continuous amnesia
– Inability to recall events occurring after a specific time up to and
including the present.
• Generalized amnesia
– Rare phenomenon of not being able to recall anything that has
happened during the person’s entire lifetime, including his or her
personal identity
• Systematized amnesia
– Person cannot remember events that relate to a specific category of
information, such as one’s family or on particular person or event.
9. Dissociative Fugue: Assessment
• Characteristic feature of dissociative
fugue is a sudden, unexpected travel
away from home or customary workplace
• A person in a fugue state unable to recall
personal identity, and assumption of a new
identity is common
11. Dissociative Identity Disorder:
Assessment
• Characterized by the existence of two or more
personalities within a single individual
• Transition from one personality to another is
usually sudden, often dramatic, and
usually precipitated by stress
13. Predisposing Factors
• Biological Theories
– Genetics
• Possible hereditary factor
– Organic
• Certain neurological conditions may predispose
individuals to DID
• Psychological Influences:History of Traumatic
Experience
• Sexual abuse, Psychological abuse andPhysical
abuse
14. Depersonalization Disorder
• Assessment: Characterized by a temporary
change in the quality of self-awareness that
often takes the form of:
– Feelings of unreality
– Changes in body image
– Feelings of detachment from the environment
– Sense of observing oneself from outside the body
15. • Symptoms of depersonalization disorder are
often accompanied by:
– Anxiety
– Fear of going insane
– Depression
– Obsessive thoughts
– Somatic complaints
– Disturbance in the
subjective sense of time
• Physiological theory
– Neurophysiological basis
• Psychodynamic theory
– Emphasizes the psychological conflict and
disturbances of ego structure in the predisposition to
depersonalization disorder
