Dissociation Explained

[anthony]

MIt is and it's important that the treating therapist be familiar with complex trauma that causes PTSD. While the symptoms are the same, the underlying causes and dysfunctional belief systems (common with all PTSD no matter the causing event) can be a whole different ball game because of the longevity and constancy of the traumas.

This is the problem. Within the US, over 60% of therapists have no trauma counselling experience or real training specifically for Evidence Based Treatment (EBT), being CBT modelling. They attempt to treat trauma with person centered therapy, being the model used for family, relationship, children, etc. Many are taught a fundamental basic of CBT, though no real advanced training in how to apply with trauma.

So for those in the US, that less than half of an industry with no training in trauma, then of the 40% odd that have stated they have had some training, over 40% had basic training only with no real experience. So realistically, that means around 25% of the therapy industry within the US have trauma counselling knowledge with some experience. You could then break that apart into specific trauma therapist...

If you looked at those finer statistics, you would find it difficult to get hold of someone who knows what their actually doing with complex trauma. Scared yet? I am!

 

[Powder]

Anthony, it seems that there is a high need for therapists to be able to specialize in treating those with PTSD in all forms. Why is this not being done? I saw a report that in the USA, there are more vets coming home from combat with PTSD than there are therapists or even counselors to see them and that the gov't is going to have to try to deal with the shortage by training more and hiring more, but I've seen zero evidence that it is happening in my area.

 

[anthony]

The US VA are actually building larger centers for treatment, and have completed them in some locations, but they sit empty because they don't have the bums to fill the seats, being the qualified therapists.

The problem with that as well, is you must also find people who want to be treated like dirt, paid next to nothing, to help those with PTSD. Not exactly appealing.... compared to private practices where paid better and can choose their clients.

America, for their own benefit, need to cease all activities in other countries, get everyone home, sort out the issues for a good decade or two, then think about whether they want to go and invade someone again. This will put some stability into the mental health arena that is currently insane within the US.

 

[Iam]

This is the problem. Within the US, over 60% of therapists have no trauma counselling experience
SSo realistically, that means around 25% of the therapy industry within the US have trauma counselling knowledge with some experience. You could then break that apart into specific trauma therapist...

Wow, I didn't know that. I guess I should be really thankful that I found my trauma T....she is in complex trauma and is totally awesome!

 

[Powder]

Wow, I didn't know that. I guess I should be really thankful that I found my trauma T....she is in complex trauma and is totally awesome!

Iam, how did you locate someone like that? Could you post under Providers section to help those in your region find her? Thanks!

 

[Powder]

Anthony, so many Americans are frustrated right now with all the lies we are told over and over by everyone. I was taken out of the country at age 11, and back age 16. Since then, I see that my country has changed very little but it seems like a lot in one generation. No one is happy with their political party anymore; when I was 11, people were comfortable. Crime and poverty are growing and we are in a huge recession; no matter how we vote, we get the same results and no one likes them.

 

[anthony]

Yes, America recognizes some of its problems, and agreed, the political level isn't doing a whole lot to change things. Obama nearly had free health for every US citizen because he went outside the country to see how others where doing it, but the US congress and senate, with the media, ran a scare campaign on socialism which put it into the ground. The US farming is one of the strongest in the world because it is a socialist infrastructure within a capitalist country. Imagine if the US actually became more socialist vs. capitalist? It would actually be a force to be reckoned with financially, economically, trade, infrastructure, employment, etc, if it adopted more stable economical principles vs. aggressive principles, being capitalism and war.

 

[J.C.]

The problem with that as well, is you must also find people who want to be treated like dirt, paid next to nothing, to help those with PTSD. Not exactly appealing....

Not appealing for employees or the clients/patients.

The employed health care providers speaking only on the (Mental/Behavior) are fresh out of college inexperienced, the grads who got by with a 2.0 gpa. Also, people who could not cut it in the private practices...weren't cutting it for (pick a reason) how about fired for sexual harassment?! Oh yeah, had a VA douche Dr...cat calling behind me as we walked in a line together to his office...none of this service or care is even slightly "appealing". Telling me what a "nice purse" I had (he was not looking at my purse). What the heck? Felt more like a blind date and one that was all wrong for me.

PTSD management (treatment and care) is crucial. People without the proper skill sets and education are causing further harm. I am a prime example.

I googled PTSD, trauma specialist for my area (location). Two popped up, I would be paying 100% out of pocket. I interviewed them I'm not wasting cash or credit risk or my health for a fraud. The second woman said to me, "You have PTSD"..you need treatment sign here...IN THE 1st 15 mins of talking to ME!!! I'm not freak I look very normal and healthy. I dress appropriately, I don't use my surfer talk, I don;t fit the profile that is alarming. I don't look like an easy target is my whole point here ...she was hungry and just need clients!!! The 1st woman said, I was "The worse case she had ever seen, or heard off" and that she would like to help me. HA! Ooh ok, Nice one lady! Way to sound professional! I was not just born nor so messed up to where I no longer give a ____. There was a soldier stuck in her office in uniform stuck in a dissociated state...I know what that looks like...I used to live it. I wanted so bad to tell him to get the hell out of there...and I left him. Made me feel like a horrible person. That kind of "help" is dangerous. They lie! They say they know how to treat PTSD just so they can add it to the rest of the acronyms after their name.

There are good ones, not saying it's 100% bad.

Whoa I hafta get away from this thread. This issues makes me more angry than the numerous abusers of the past. Even more angry than a disgusting pervert boss telling me all about his junk. I recorded him, and shared it with his wife. This was how I got fired and unemployed....ah dream come true...fresh outta hell...life is interesting.

 

[anthony]

I googled PTSD, trauma specialist for my area (location). Two popped up, I would be paying 100% out of pocket. I interviewed them I'm not wasting cash or credit risk or my health for a fraud. The second woman said to me, "You have PTSD"..you need treatment sign here...IN THE 1st 15 mins of talking to ME!!! I'm not freak I look very normal and healthy. I dress appropriately, I don't use my surfer talk, I don;t fit the profile that is alarming. I don't look like an easy target is my whole point here ...she was hungry and just need clients!!! The 1st woman said, I was "The worse case she had ever seen, or heard off" and that she would like to help me. HA! Ooh ok, Nice one lady! Way to sound professional! I was not just born nor so messed up to where I no longer give a ____. There was a soldier stuck in her office in uniform stuck in a dissociated state...I know what that looks like...I used to live it.

I tend to question your reasoning and judgement here actually, in that here you are on PTSD Forum, yet you excluded this professionals immediate diagnosis of... PTSD. Some people are that bad, they can be very quickly assimilated by someone who knows what they're looking at, ie. an experienced trauma specialist.

You are contradicting yourself IMHO JC. Where do you also expect to find trauma experts? Freely helping people all the time? No... most give a small portion of their time for information... but don't provide one on one services freely. They have to also make a living, there is a difference to this than what you are implying.

You made an assumption about a soldier sitting in the waiting room in a dissociated state. How do you know that soldier wasn't waiting to be seen? Which would mean they were in a dissociated state prior to getting their. Also, therapy will provoke a dissociated state with PTSD sufferers when being pushed... nothing you can do about that, except help them ground themselves again, then continue. Its part and parcel of PTSD, especially in military and complex cases.

Maybe you need more help than you think!

 

[shell]

I can't remember a very large part of what happened when I was raped, does this mean I dissociated? I've never remembered it, even the next day. I've just started recovering the memories of parts of it that I remembered when it happened. Like the physical abuse I suffered all my life I managed to force it from my mind when I left home at 18. It's amazing how much of the physical abuse I've forgotten, even though my Mother admits it happened every day.

 

[anthony]

Its very normal to dissociate during a traumatic event. Is it what happened to you? I do not know, but no doubt you have a good idea by piecing together what occurs in a traumatic event and whether that applies to you.

Every person is quite unique with how they distinguish trauma. Some people can just put it aside, disregard it and have no consequences. Some cannot. If a memory is actually gone, then there is little point in attempting to recover it, and has been found extremely detrimental more than helpful, trying to recover them. If they are just pieces... then that can disturb you, and often requires the pieces to be put together. Memory will return all by itself, if able.

A person can also confuse fragmented memory with simply no sensing something, so their brain has missed it entirely. People tend to want to put things into a logical story for understanding, when really all that is needed is the facts, which often are pieces, snippets, of information. There is not always a requirement to fill in the blanks if the blanks are actually blank. This then crosses into things like false memories, basically the person making things up to fill in the blanks in an attempt to understand, which only complicates the situation more than helps, typically.

A lot of grey areas and well... just completely unknown to the experts, when it comes to memory, which includes dissociation, as that is functional memory in essence.

It is hypothesized that memory focused more on a specific sense within trauma vs. taking in all the surroundings via senses. The brain is recording them nonetheless, but we don't remember them. This is how we run into nightmares, flashbacks, pieces we do not otherwise recognise, though have been triggered by something in our brain that we may, or may not, remember. It might not have even happened, but we are subconsciously telling ourselves it did happen.

Moral to the story... don't beat yourself up over what you have pushed out of your brain, and whether you specifically remember an entire event. There is no requirement to remember the entire event in order to heal trauma.

 

[intothelight]

There is no requirement to remember the entire event in order to heal trauma.

How do you heal trauma when you cannot remember the trauma, or memories are so fragmented they make no sense? I thought you had to remember the trauma in order to work through it? It is the same problem when dealing with emotional flashbacks. The emotions have no relation to the present reality, but how do you tie them to a prior event when you don't remember it? Even exposure therapy is hit or miss at best, because how do you expose yourself to things you don't remember?

This lack of memory is the most frustrating thing and I know they are there somewhere. How can you literally "forget" so much of life?

If there is a good source of information for these issues, please let me know. I am pretty much feeling desperate in regard to finding treatment and formulating a plan.