When Therapists Say They Don't Treat Dissociation

"Most therapists who say this are highly skilled clinicians. They care deeply about their clients and often have extensive training in trauma treatment. The issue is not competence. The problem is a misunderstanding about what dissociation actually is and how commonly it appears when working with clients who have experienced trauma."

"The reality is that dissociation is not limited to DID. It exists on a spectrum, and it can appear in subtle ways that are easy to miss if clinicians have not been trained to assess for it. Clients may describe feeling detached from their emotions, losing time during stressful moments, or experiencing different parts of themselves with conflicting needs, memories, or perspectives."

"These experiences are not unusual among survivors of overwhelming stress or trauma. They are the mind's way of protecting itself when experiences exceed what the nervous system can safely process."

Dissociation is far more prevalent in trauma therapy than many clinicians recognize, yet many skilled trauma therapists mistakenly believe dissociation is limited to dissociative identity disorder and refer such cases to specialists. This misunderstanding prevents comprehensive trauma treatment. Dissociation exists on a spectrum and manifests in subtle ways including emotional detachment, time loss during stress, conflicting internal parts, feelings of unreality, and numbness. These experiences represent the mind's protective mechanism when overwhelming experiences exceed the nervous system's processing capacity. Developing deeper understanding of dissociation fundamentally changes how trauma-informed therapy is approached and delivered, expanding clinician confidence and effectiveness.

Read at Psychology Today