Traumatic Dissociation: Neurobiology and Treatment

by Eric Vermetten (Editor), Martin Dorahy (Editor), David Spiegel (Editor)

Traumatic Neurobiology and Treatment offers an advanced introduction to this symptom, process, and pattern of personality organization seen in several trauma-related disorders, including acute stress disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, and the dissociative disorders. The authors track the condition from its earliest historical conceptualization to its most recent neurobiological understanding to show that greater insight into traumatic dissociation can be obtained from clinical progress in treatment models and strategies. Useful as a clinical reference or as ancillary textbook, this work reorganizes phenomenological observations that have been previously been overlooked, misunderstood, or neglected in traditional training.

Bringing together for the first time theoretical, cognitive, and neurobiological perspectives on traumatic dissociation, this volume is designed to provide both empirical and therapeutic insights into traumatic dissociation. Opening chapters examine historical, conceptual, and theoretical issues and how other fields, such as cognitive psychology, have been applied to the study of traumatic dissociation. The following section focuses specifically on how neurobiological investigations have deepened our understanding of dissociation. Concluding chapters explore issues pertinent to the assessment and treatment of traumatic dissociation. Key issues covered include the interacting effects of traumatic experience, developmental history, neurobiological function, and specific vulnerabilities to dissociative processes that underlie the occurrence of traumatic dissociation.

Genres: Psychology

398 pages, Paperback

First published March 20, 2007