Winner of ISSTD's 2009 Pierre Janet Writing Award for the best publication on dissociation in 2009! Dissociation and the Dissociative Disorders is a book that has no real predecessor in the dissociative disorders field. It reports the most recent scientific findings and conceptualizations about dissociation; defines and establishes the boundaries of current knowledge in the dissociative disorders field; identifies and carefully articulates the field’s current points of confusion, gaps in knowledge, and conjectures; clarifies the different aspects and implications of dissociation; and sets forth a research agenda for the next decade. In many respects, Dissociation and the Dissociative Disorders both defines and redefines the field.

This second edition of the award-winning original text brings together in one volume the current thinking and conceptualizations on dissociation and the dissociative disorders. Comprised of ten parts, starting with historical and conceptual issues, and ending with considerations for the present and future, internationally renowned authors in the trauma and dissociation fields explore different facets of dissociation in pathological and non-clinical guises. This book is designed to be the most comprehensive reference book in the dissociation field and aims to provide a scholarly foundation for understanding dissociation, dissociative disorders, current issues and perspectives within the field, theoretical formulations, and empirical findings. Chapters have been thoroughly updated to include recent developments in the field, including: the complex nature of conceptualization, etiology, and neurobiology; the various manifestations of dissociation in clinical and non-clinical forms; and different perspectives on how dissociation should be understood. This book is essential for clinicians, researchers, theoreticians, students of clinical psychology psychiatry, and psychotherapy, and those with an interest or curiosity in dissociation in the various ways it can be conceived and studied.

In Rebuilding Shattered Lives, James A. Chu, MD, describes a proven approach to the assessment and treatment of post-traumatic and dissociative disorders developed at the Dissociative Disorders and Trauma Program at McLean Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Drawing on his extensive empirical research and more than a decade's clinical experience specializing in treating survivors of severe abuse, Dr. Chu also offers valuable insights into all the major areas of traumarelated symptomatology and provides the most detailed explanation of dissociative theory currently in print. And, with the help of numerous vignettes and case examples, he clearly illustrates common clinical dilemmas encountered when dealing with survivors of severe abuse as well as the most effective techniques for resolving them. Rebuilding Shattered Lives is an important working resource for mental health workers of all levels of experience. Throughout, the writing style is clear, and complex theories are explained with an emphasis on how they provide the conceptual basis for a rational, responsible, and safe approach to treatment.

Have you ever had a daydream? If so, you’ve had a dissociative experience. The same is true if you’ve had an out-of-body moment or thought you were somewhere else as you drifted off to sleep. These are seemingly harmless and temporary dissociations. But further down the spectrum of such experiences, you find people actually traveling to a strange city and suddenly not remembering how they got there. You also find people with multiple personalities and other disordered thinking. In The Wandering Mind, Dr. John Biever and co-author Maryann Karinch use the stories of people all along the spectrum of dissociative conditions—from those who are “perfectly normal” to those diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder—to expose the natures and functions of dissociation. Their lives and stories serve as a way of exploring chronic dissociation and the trek back to good mental health. The authors look closely at what signs and symptoms indicate normal, everyday dissociation, and those that indicate a more serious problem. While daydreamers may not meet the criteria for diagnosis, trauma victims who relive their nightmares in real time may require both diagnosis and treatment. The authors also delve into the phenomenon of deliberate dissociation, such as Buddhist monks in meditation. And they take a close look at the process of diagnosing a dissociative disorder as well as factors that put patients on the road to reintegration and recovery.

Scientific and popular interest in dissociation and dissociative disorders has grown significantly in the past decade. Responding to the need for an authoritative reference on this topic, Steven Jay Lynn and Judith W. Rhue present an unusually comprehensive volume, covering the major aspects of dissociation--from the predominant models and diagnostic and treatment approaches, to significant research, clinical, and conceptual issues. Illuminating reading, Dissociation confronts many of the controversies and debates surrounding the topic. Founded on research and grounded in theory, it is an important addition to the scholarly literature. Laying the groundwork for the rest of the book, the first section discusses current theoretical and research perspectives on dissociation. Chapters set forth results of the latest research alongside actual clinical examples. In the second section, chapters present practical information designed to assist clinicians in diagnosing and treating clients suffering from dissociative disorders, post-traumatic stress disorders, and the consequences of sexual victimization and cult involvement. Fostering an appreciation for the ways in which social and cultural factors affect the expression of dissociative symptoms, this section also illustrates the ways in which transference and countertransference can affect dissociative symptoms and the treatment of multiple personality disorder, (MPD). The third section, on current issues and controversies, provides invaluable information for all clinicians who encounter clients with dissociative disorders. Chapters probe such questions as whether trauma causes dissociative pathology, whether and under what circumstances pseudomemories of child abuse can be created, the relationship between conversion and dissociative disorders and their respective placement in diagnostic classification schemes, and areas of possible rapprochement between those who believe in MPD and those who are skeptical of the disorder. Offering the most significant contribution to scholarly coverage of dissociation to date, this highly provocative volume offers valuable insights for the clinician, as well as many new theories, hypotheses, and syntheses of the research literature. As such, Dissociation will be welcomed by anyone who encounters dissociative disorders in clinical practice. It is also a useful primary text for researchers and students of psychotherapy in a broad range of helping professions.

Janet's brain felt foggy and numb. She imagined herself kneeling on a great frozen lake, and she pressed her face against the ice, trying to see through the cloudy surface to the open water below. In fact, she didn't feel any physical sensation at all, just an internal panic. Janet didn't understand these feelings. She just knew that in her frightening daydreams, she was lost above the ice and the knowledge that could save her was trapped in the dark water below. Soon, Janet was forgetting things, missing school, and losing sleep. She'd find notes that she'd written to herself but couldn't remember writing. They said things like, "Janet! Help me!" and "Who are you?" Scariest of all, she began hearing voices in her head that did not sound like her own. When she imagined herself looking down through the barren ice, she thought she saw a little girl looking back at her. Janet was sure the little girl's name was Sara... Have you ever daydreamed, "lost track of time" when you were having fun, or "tuned out" when your parents were scolding you? If so, you were experiencing dissociation. Janet's dissociation, however, is much more severe. She is suffering from dissociative identity disorder. Different parts of her personality have become so separate that they are beginning to seem like different people. A dissociative disorder like Janet's requires medical intervention. Janet's story, and stories like hers, can teach us a lot about how our minds work and how they can be treated. Read Dissociative Disorders and learn more about these psychiatric disorders and the help available for people like Janet.