Understanding Dissociation: An Overview of Dissociative Symptoms and Treatment Strategies

Clinicians often find themselves confused and stuck when navigating dissociative symptoms with clients. These symptoms present in a myriad of ways. Because their function is to keep intolerable experiences out of awareness, these symptoms can be daunting to ground and safely invite a client to become aware of. 

In this two-part series, Meg Hamilton, LCMHC, ATR will provide an overview of dissociation and an introduction to foundational treatment strategies in working with dissociative clients. We will explore the differences between ego states, dissociative defenses, and structural dissociation. Learn skills for creating a strong therapeutic foundation for working with dissociative symptoms and ways to shift clinical framework and strategy for issues that might appear to be resistance or avoidance in a client. We will discuss the presentation of dissociative symptoms in children, adolescents, and adults. We will spend the first two hours of each workshop covering didactic information. The last hour…