Chronic childhood abuse and neglect can be understood as severe attachment or betrayal trauma because it usually occurs in the intimate [trust-based] relationships of parents and/or other caretakers. Consequently, a child may develop so-called disorganized attachment (DA) and/or a complex trauma-related dissociative disorder. In adulthood, those conditions can compromise other intimate relationships, as well as challenge the therapeutic relationship. Dissociative disorders are understood as a division of the personality into distinct dissociated parts. Each part has its own first-person perspective, whereby DA can be understood as [those] different parts perceiving intimate relationships differently, i.e., either as [desperately] longed-for, or as [extremely] dangerous. Those perceptions may test the therapeutic relationship, evoking severe approach/avoidance conflicts among these parts.
Clinical experience has taught us, in such cases, it is better to strive for a collaborative therapeutic relationship—also as a model for fostering collaboration among dissociative parts. In this webinar, Dr Onno van der Hart will discuss the clinical challenges of working with Complex Dissociation, with parts integration as a major therapeutic goal.
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Video Lecture: Complex Dissociation
PPT Slides: Complex Dissociation
Assessment Component
Dr van der Hart is Professor Emeritus at the Department of Clinical and Health Psychology at Utrecht University. He is a scholar in Pierre Janet studies. Dr van der Hart has worked with colleagues Ellert Nijenhuis, PhD, and Kathy Steele, MN, CS, on a theoretical approach on trauma-related dissociation of the personality and a related treatment model which unifies mental disorders with a traumatic origin. He is co-author of the following books: The Haunted Self: Structural Dissociation and the Treatment of Chronic Traumatization (2006), Coping with Trauma-related Dissociation: Skills Training for and Therapists (2011), and Treating trauma-related dissociation: A practical, integrative approach (2017).
