There are three phases to the individual psychotherapy used in the treatment of dissociative identity disorder. In phase one, there is the establishment of safety, reduction in symptoms, and stabilization. Phase two involves confronting and working through the traumatic memories. Phase three involves integration and rehabilitation. Besides the preferred treatment of individual psychotherapy, patients can participate in family systems therapy, cognitive therapy, clinical hypnosis, and creative arts therapy. It does not respond to medications unless there is coexisting anxiety and depression.
DISSOCIATIVE AMNESIA (300.12) Dissociative amnesia or DA is one of the three specified dissociative disorders seen in DSM-V. There is a transient loss of recall memory in this disorder that can occur over a few seconds or a few years. This is almost always secondary to psychological trauma. It involves memory loss that is beyond that seen with typical forgetfulness. The patient may forget key details of what happened before or during a traumatic event but will remember other details. This usually arises out of childhood traumatic events but can be difficult to actually diagnose. In older individuals, it can stem from war trauma or stressful situations that involve extremes of emotions that the individual cannot cope with. There are brain abnormalities in the right temporo-frontal cortical area in individuals who have dissociative amnesia. The main criteria of dissociative amnesia, according to the DSM-V, include the following: •
Inability to recall autobiographical memories about a traumatic event
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Distress caused by the inability to remember the event
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There is no physiological cause of the lack of memory
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The disorder is not secondary to dissociative identity disorder
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There is no substance use or abuse involved
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