The Treatment of Dissociation: An Evaluation of Effectiveness and Potential Mechanisms

This chapter compiles the state of the empirical evidence for the effectiveness of treatments for dissociative symptoms in adulthood, and argues for caution when treating dissociative symptoms, as workers in the field have expressed concern that some of these symptoms may arise as a function of the very techniques used to treat them. It reviews in terms of dissociative disorders, as that is the context in which dissociative symptoms are described in the treatment literature. The chapter also examines the admittedly limited evidence for mechanisms of change proposed or implied in the treatments reviewed and evaluates the strength of this evidence. It begins with a review of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) dissociative disorders. The treatment of dissociative disorders has received scant attention, arguably less than any other major diagnostic class in the DSM-5.