Within the broad fields of psychiatry and psychology (and even within the field of traumatology), there is enormous variation in how the terms trauma and dissociation are used. Why does this matter? Clinical phenomena are more difficult to describe and address when the concepts they are based on are fuzzy; further, those inclined to dismiss the reality of trauma and dissociation take advantage of such conceptual drift to question their validity. In this seminar, I will discuss various ways to judge the utility of concepts such as trauma and dissociation, trace the shift in their meanings over time, and propose some guidelines as to their most valid use. We will also look at understandings of attachment and, in particular, the relation of disorganized attachment to dissociation. Throughout, emphasis will be placed on everyday language and clear illustrations to describe how best to use these complex but very important concepts.

Presented by:

Andrew Moskowitz, PhD

Learning Objectives:

1) Participants will be able to describe two ways in which the concepts of trauma and dissociation have been
used, and advantages and disadvantages of each.
2) Participants will be able to describe two ways in which disorganized attachment may act as a risk factor
for dissociative disorders.
3) Participants will be able to describe the concept of transient dissociation, and its relation to structural
dissociation.

Andrew Moskowitz, Ph.D., is Professor of Psychology at Touro College Berlin and Past President of the European Society for Trauma and Dissociation. He is the lead editor of Psychosis, Trauma and Dissociation: Evolving Perspectives on Severe Psychopathology (Wiley Press), the 2nd edition of which was published in 2019, and was a core member of the WHO committee to revise dissociative disorders diagnostic criteria for the ICD-11. Professor Moskowitz has published widely in the dissociation and psychosis fields.

References:

1) Moskowitz, A., Heinimaa, M. & Van der Hart, O. (2019) Defining psychosis, trauma and dissociation: Historical and contemporary conceptions. Psychosis, trauma and dissociation (2nd Ed.). Moskowitz, A., Dorahy, M. J. & Schäfer, I. (Eds.) London: Wiley, pp.
2) Moskowitz, A. & Montirosso, R. (2019). Childhood experiences and delusions: Trauma, memory and the double bind. Psychosis, trauma and dissociation (2nd Ed.). Moskowitz, A., Dorahy, M. J. & Schäfer, I. (Eds.) London: Wiley., pp.
3) Dutra, L., Bereau, J.-F., Holmes, B., Lyubchik, A., & Lyons-Ruth, K. (2009). Quality of early care and childhood trauma: A prospective study of developmental pathways to dissociation. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 197, 383–390.
4) Dutra, L., Bianchi, I., Siegel, D. J., & Lyons-Ruth, K. (2009). The relational context of dissociative phenomena. In P.F. Dell & J.A. O'Neil (Eds.), Dissociation and the dissociative disorders: DSM-V and beyond (pp. 83–92). New York, NY: Routledge
5) Liotti, G. (2009). Attachment and dissociation. In P.F. Dell & J.A. O'Neil (Eds.), Dissociation and the dissociative disorders: DSM-V and beyond (pp. 53–65). New York, NY: Routledge.