Frequently Asked Questions
FAQs
What is dissociation and how does it relate to trauma?
Dissociation is a natural phenomenon which may occur in the aftermath of an overwhelming traumatic experience(s). In order to continue with the tasks of daily life, part of the personality “splits” away from the part of the self that holds the traumatic memory, leaving the personality fragmented. Traumatized individuals can experience everything from having no linear memory of the event, to persistent experiences of threat or imminent danger (where no actual danger is present), to outright denial of the traumatic occurrence(s). Whatever the degree of dissociation, the sense of self is greatly affected, and may fluctuate between no sense of self, no body, memory gaps, intense emotions, and many selves engaged in competing strategies for survival.
What is the importance of mindfulness in psychotherapy?
Mindfulness is paying attention, on purpose, and without judgement. It is useful in psychotherapy because it engages a part of the brain which allows for dual awareness. That dual awareness in innately regulating. It allows us to slow down, and to break our experience down into manageable pieces. When we hold a mindful perspective, we can be aware of what we are experiencing while simultaneously tracking the internal effects of that same experience. We can slow down and break our experience down into more manageable levels. As we exercise the capacity to witness our thoughts, our emotions and our body sensations, rather than being overcome by experience and have it dictate our behaviour, we can choose our responses and choose the behaviours that feel appropriate to our present needs.
Can traumatic dissociation be resolved?
It is possible for dissociative parts to be re-associated from a system of disparate parts into a working whole self. As the mind is divided, so is the body, and it is not uncommon for dissociative individuals to have persistent and inexplicable body-based symptoms. These symptoms can live anywhere in the body and encompass any kind of disturbance, such as pain, tension, psychomotor retardation, reflex inhibition, temporary blindness, loss of speech, pressure, tingling, numbness, anaesthetization and many more. As the Sensorimotor psychotherapist studies these symptoms and assists the client in tracking the body, together they learn to understand how these dissociated parts create a system. Survivors learn to successfully engage with their dissociated parts and generate more harmonious function within their system. This process affords the opportunity for the development of an over-arching definition of self that acknowledges authentic character traits as distinct from symptoms, allowing survivors to begin to live with a sense of being grounded in the present.