I've heard people talk about the dissociative spectrum sorta like its a contuinuum. But then when you talk about diagnoses people either say you have this or you don't. But sometimes i feel like I'm on some part of the spectruum... if that makes sense.

[__zh]

yes it is a spectrum. there are some differing ideas tossed about in this forum but there are lots of different disorders along the dissociative spectrum. there are also components of dissociation that go hand in hand with other disorders/diseases.

no one person here holds all the answers.

there isn't some mysterious handshake for those who are and those who are not.

we're all there somewhere............some of us moreso than others is all.

don't let differing opinions change how you feel about yourself. you've expressed yourself so well before and you continue to do so. if a dx is important to you then ask your therapist or pdoc. if not then just keep heading in the direction that is working for you.

have you read Stout's Myth of Sanity yet? it is one book that gently explains one author's version of this spectrum. very readable for the layperson.

kindly,

(((( EV ))))

I do believe you are a fellow PTSD'er? My dx is PTSD/DDNOS.

You may find this article informative.( or not )

Although DID is a common disorder (perhaps as common as one in 100) (Ross, 1989), the combination of PTSD-DDNOS is the most frequent diagnosis in survivors of childhood abuse. These survivors experience the flashbacks and intrusion of trauma memories, sometimes not until years after the childhood abuse, with dissociative experiences of distancing, "trancing out", feeling unreal, the ability to ignore pain, and feeling as if they were looking at the world through a fog.

Spectrum

Spectrum is just a word professionals use instead of the word "scale".

The diagnosing criteria of each dissociative disorder that professionals use is on a scale of 1-10.

based on where the person scores on their diagnostic testing of the validity scales and so on that are contained with in the tests like DDIS, DES and others (some interview and some computerized) is where they fit on that scale.

For example LL told me that I am probably an 8 or a 9 on the Dissociative Identity Disorder disoociative scale.

You can find out where you are on any of the dissociative disorders scales by taking a comprehensive psychological evaluation with suplimental tests for Dissociative Identity Disorder/dissociative disorders.

You can find in my blog in general terms what a comprehensive psychological evaluation is and contains though I did not include a complete list and details on all the tests given for DID. Some are not disclosed to the general public in part for the specific reason of weeding out the non - DID's.

[(JD)]

Sure is. Keep in mind, everyone dissociates from time to time. Here's the self inventory to rate HOW dissociative you might be : (it's free)

www.energyhealing.net/pdf_files/desii.pdf

[__zh]

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
though I did not include a complete list and details on all the tests given for DID. Some are not disclosed to the general public in part for the specific reason of weeding out the non - DID's.

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from the link that _Sky gave we navigated our way to the ISSD site and found in their treatment guidelines this info: Guidelines for Treating Dissociative Identity Disorder in Adults (2005)
the following is a brief portion of the introduction about instruments used for assessment <ul type="square">[*]E). Measures of Dissociation
There are three classes of instruments that assess dissociation: clinician-administered structured interviews, clinician-administered measures, and self-report instruments.
[*]Clinician Administered Measures
There is one clinician-administered inventory that measures dissociative states, the Clinician Administered Dissociative States Scale (CADSS) (Bremner et al., 1998). It has 27 items with 19 subject-rated items and 8 observer-scored items, all rated on a 0-4 scale. It has three factors that assess symptoms of amnesia, depersonalization and derealization.
[*]Clinician-Administered Structured Interviews
There are two structured interviews for the dissociative disorders: the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Dissociative Disorders-Revised (Steinberg, 1994a, 1994b, 1995), and the Dissociative Disorder Interview Schedule (Ross, 1997; Ross, Heber, Norton, Anderson, Anderson, & Barchet, 1989).
[*]Self-Report Instruments
There are six self-report measures of dissociation that have been used with some frequency. Five of the instruments (i.e., the Dissociative Experiences Scale [DES], the Questionnaire of Experiences of Dissociation [QED], the Dissociation Questionnaire [DIS-Q], Somatoform Dissociation Questionnaire [SDQ] and the Multiscale Dissociation Inventory [MDI] ) are brief screening inventories. The Multidimensional Inventory of Dissociation (MID) is a multiscale diagnostic instrument.
[*]F). Other Psychological Tests
Some measures that are frequently used in psychological testing (e.g., Rorschach, MMPI-2, WAIS-R, MCMI-III) can provide understanding of the patient's personality structure and may suggest DID (Armstrong, 1991). In combination with more specific diagnostic testing (e.g., SCID-D-R, DES, etc.), standardized psychological tests may aid the clinician in differential diagnosis and prognosis, the identification of co-morbid disorders, and the evaluation of treatment options. It should be noted, however, that commonly used psychological tests were not designed to detect dissociative disorders, and may lead to misdiagnosis when the psychologist (1) is not familiar with the typical responses of dissociative patients on these tests, (2) does not administer additional dissociation-specific tests (such as structured clinical interviews), and (3) does not inquire specifically about dissociative symptoms during the clinical or testing interview.
[*]G). False Positive Diagnoses of DID[/list]it appears to be a fairly comprehensive listing of the testings available to the clinician, the patient and others involved in assessment. glad this info is widely available online to the public.

above info-----Copyright 1994, 1997, and 2005 by the International Society for the Study of Dissociation. The Guidelines may be reproduced without the written permission of the International Society for the Study of Dissociation (ISSD) as long as this copyright notice is included and the address of the ISSD is included with the copy. Violations are subject to prosecution under federal copyright laws.

The International Society for the Study of Dissociation
8201 Greensboro Drive, Suite 300
McLean, VA 22102
Telephone: 703/610-9037 Fax: 703/610-9005
E-mail: sboulter@issd.org Copyright © 2005-2006 by ISSD
The International Society for the Study of Dissociation

Thanks yes I have a printo out of this.

theres also one test that starts with the letter M or R but i don't remember the exact name of it off the top of my head. that is an interview (oral) test questions that a psychiatrist, psychologist or even a therapist can give during and through out the normal therapy sessions dropping a question or two here and there when the client does not realize4 they are being asked test questions.

There is also

MID
SDQ's
CADSS
DES-T
DISQ

OOPS sorry some of these have already been mentioned.

and many others tests and scales envolved with diagnosing Dissociative disorders and where they fall on all the validity scales and so on.

Yes shortened versions are available on line for example the the DES can be found on many on line mental health sites but the full length ones are only open to professionals with the release of their license or certification numbers.

[Jennifer1084]

Yeah, I'm guessing I will be learning more about these tests and how they measure them when I take behavioral statistics this fall. If I learn anything I will be sure to pass it along.

Jennifer

in college? I learned about the general psych testing like tthe TAT and roarshacks and multiaxil tests and state mental testing but for more in depth of tests geared for specific disorders that comes when you are at internship levels because new tests come out every year. so that only if use them to test with or you take them you know about them kind of thing.

Kind of like SAT's in school. no one knows whats involved until they are distributed and put into use and they change from year to year to prevent the general public from learning how to bluff their way through them.

But in college they are able to tell you things like the TAT is supposed to gage emotional level and distinctions of emotions but what they don't offen tell you unless you are at internship level is that the persons answers refect how they are feeling at that moment about the the topic that was just discussed right before the person is showed the pictures.

the tester brings up a topic and then shows the person the TAT pictures they have already selected that will get a certain response.

for example when they were trying to test whether or not I would have a reaction to my PTSD associated with my being raped I was shown a picture of a woman hiding behind a door and told to make up a story about it. I wasn't told what they were looking for just showed that picture and make up a story to go with it. It wasn't until after the report came back that I found out they were looking for whether or not I could recognize the feeling of fear in the picture and relate it to me. they don't normally go that in dept during college classes because a majority of the students don't go on to intern level of study and practice.

If I remember right behavioral statistics will be dealing more with numbers one in 4 girls get raped and one in three boys get raped kind of things only with all kinds of behaviors including a mixure of devient behavior and mental disorder behaviours. but not specifically focused on mental health diagnostic testing procedures.

[Jennifer1084]

oh ok, I wasn't really sure what the class was going to be like. I still have other classes to come too. So I may learn more about what's going on in psychology, who knows? Well sorry for posting in the first place.

Jennifer

thats ok.

Thanks for your input everyone.. Sorry I've had a rough few days. I didn't mean to post and then dissappear. I will be reading all the stuff you all wrote.