How do therapists deal with dissociation?

Thus, therapy for dissociation generally focuses on acknowledging and processing the painful emotions that are being avoided. By changing how a person responds emotionally to a trauma, therapy can help reduce the frequency of dissociative episodes. A therapist may also teach coping skills for use during dissociation.

What to do if a client dissociates?

If a client is dissociating in the session, simple exercises can help ground them. You could ask a client to find three red objects in the room, or ask the client to listen out for three sounds and identify them. Sound can be a safe bridge back into the here-and-now.

How do you ground dissociative clients?

Educate: Give your client basic information about trauma and dissociation. Give them information about what is happening, but don’t drown them in technicalities. (Clients are often not ready to hear details: they will find this out for themselves when they are ready.)

What is dissociation therapy?

Psychotherapy is the primary treatment for dissociative disorders. This form of therapy, also known as talk therapy, counseling or psychosocial therapy, involves talking about your disorder and related issues with a mental health professional.

What does dissociation look like in a therapy session?

Usually, signs of dissociation can be as subtle as unexpected lapses in attention, momentary avoidance of eye contact with no memory, staring into space for several moments while appearing to be in a daze, or repeated episodes of short-lived spells of apparent fainting.

What does it look like when a client dissociates?

What should I do if my client is dissociating?

Although it is important to be gentle and compassionate when discussing the topic, ignoring dissociation keeps clients in a disempowered state and colludes with the inaccurate idea that zoning out is still a necessary response. Keep in mind that dissociation always happens because the client is feeling threatened.

Why do we need to understand the catalysts of dissociative reactions?

Therefore, identifying and understanding the catalysts, as well as knowing how to intervene and re-ground the client, helps to restore a sense of safety during the session and within the therapeutic relationship. Since dissociation is not an arbitrary response, it always helps to put the dissociative reaction in context.

Do children with dissociative disorders have control?

Most children experiencing dissociation don’t have as little control as Trina did at this juncture.

What is dissociation and how does it work?

Clinically, this is called dissociation, and it’s best understood as a well-honed childhood coping strategy; mastering the ability to mentally escape when it’s impossible to physically escape a potentially threatening situation.