Transcript Psychological Disorders

Dissociative Disorders
•Dissociation…the human mind’s capacity to
mediate complex mental activity in
channels split off from or independent of
conscious awareness
•A way of managing anxiety and stress…
– Dissociative Identity Disorder
–Psychogenic/Dissociative
Amnesia & Fugue
– Depersonalization disorder
Coexisting Diagnoses or Misdiagnoses
•Major depression
•Generalized anxiety disorder
•Bipolar disorder
•Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
•Obsessive compulsive disorder
•Eating disorders
•Substance abuse disorders
•Sleep disorders
•Impulse control disorders
Dissociative Identity Disorder
•Previously known as
Multiple Personality Disorder
• Individual manifests at least two or more
distinct systems of identity
•Host personality + Alter identities (~2 -15+)
•Associated with childhood abuse
•Rare disorder
•Popular in media
•Can be faked or influenced by therapist
DSM-IV casebook: Mary Kendall, a 35 yr old
caseworker.
Not much social life--devoted to helping others.
Extensive medical history, including chronic pain
in her right hand and forearm, led her to meet
with a psychiatrist.
Displayed many characteristics common w/ DID
~ability to be easily hypnotized
~frequent gaps in her memory
+especially childhood memories
Frequent gaps in memory
Noticed gas tank often almost full when
returned from work, but almost empty in a.m.
Kept track of odometer: 50-100 miles
overnight, but could not remember driving
anywhere.
Hypnosis session: one of the hostile
personalities (Marian) emerged.
Marian described rides that she often took at
night in an attempt to work out her problems.
Alter personality, Marian, displayed strong contempt
for Mary.
Marian felt Mary was very pathetic and that it was a
waste of time to always be concerned about others.
In therapy ~ 6 personalities emerged- in conflict.
Childhood memories emerged:
•abuse (physical and sexual) committed by father
•guilt over not protecting siblings.
Psychotherapy, in cases of DID not a rapid process.
4 yrs before gradual integration of personality states
evident.
Some personalities: no integration.
Dissociative Amnesia
•PSYCHOGENIC AMNESIA
– Inability to recall certain personal
information, which is still know at the
unconscious level
– Loss in episodic memory, not
procedural or semantic
Dissociative Fugue
•PSYCHOGENIC FUGUE
– Loss of memory accompanied by an
actual flight from one’s present life
situation to a new environment
– May take on a new identity
Depersonalization disorder
• Characterized by a sudden sense of being
outside yourself,
• Observing your actions from a distance as
though watching a movie.
• May be accompanied by a perceived
distortion of the size and shape of your
body or of other people and objects around
you.
• Time may seem to slow down, and the world
may seem unreal.
• Symptoms may last only a few moments or
may come and go over many years