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Originally Posted by MdngtRain
I have quite a bit of education around trauma and trauma reactions... Intellectually, I know dissociation can come in a lot of forms, and that there is no "true" form of dissociation, but more along a continuum of severity...
yet this (new) sexual assault clinician has said to me (twice now) that my dissociation is not considered "true" dissociation because it is not experienced like the traditional "out-of-body" experience is described (watching the experience from outside of my body).
I don't know why it bothers me, other than it is very invalidating to the experience itself, and what other (more expert) clinicians and doctors in the field of trauma have told me... While I am desperately grasping for any support I can get, I'm beginning to wonder if seeing her will be more helpful or hurtful. Has anyone else been told that their experience of dissociation is not "true" dissociation? I'm not quite sure what she is trying to achieve by telling me this more than once. I don;t know how to ask her why her definition is so limited, and why she feels the need to underscore this with me. I also don't know why it is getting under my skin so badly... Maybe it's a fear of trusting yet another person... and fear of judgement from her (is she being judgmental?)... and maybe a fear of her invalidating the entire experience. I have felt like I needed to defend myself with her in terms of my interpretation of events that occurred, and why I did not leave/felt like I could not leave the situation. But she is supposed to be an expert in this arena... I don't know. She's willing to still see me, despite general policy not to "duplicate" services (I don't feel I can talk about this with my T because he is a male T, and there are so many other daily things that we need to tackle... and he is also looking to help get me extra support). I agreed to keep an open dialogue with both of them. Maybe I will talk to her next week and ask about this...
Am I wrong in my understanding of dissociation? I used to know a lot about this, but since everything has relapsed, I find it hard to remember facts about treatment and such... this may be one of them...
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are you wrong in your understanding of dissociation? Im sorry but we cant answer that... you see each location, mental health agency, religion, culture...all have their own definitions of the same words..
which may be why this treatment provider is telling you different then what you believe. it may very well be the belief with in the mental health program where you are, the mental health agency at which this treatment provider works,...that what the treatment provider described is what dissociation is where you are....
my suggestion ask the treatment provider to show you the medical and mental health definition of what dissociation is in your location.. its usually wrote down in diagnostic books, mental heath treatment pamphlets, the Physicians Desk reference, the IDC coding and other professional manuals your treatment providers use...
this way you will have the terminology that is professionally appropriate for your location, religion, culture....what ever your treatment providers go by in treating you.
another suggestion... it helps to have all treatment providers in contact with each other when being treated by more than one treatment provider, this way problems like conflicting definitions, conflicting treatment plans, conflicting meds and other conflicts are avoided..maybe you can give this treatment provider contact with your other treatment provider so that they will both be on the same page with definitions, treatment and such.