I've bought the book: "Treating Trauma-Related Dissociation: A Practical, Integrative Approach" by Kathy Steele, Suzette Boon and Onno Van Der Hart - it is the 2017 edition.
I hope to write a few notes from the book as I read it - I would invite anyone who wants to contribute their own comments etc to do so.
My thoughts about the book are - it is a really well put-together book - the titles of the chapters are really relevant, and I have read Chapter 1 - and found it very helpful so far.
Chapter 1: Dissociation as Non-Realisation
I relate to p.6 "Though patients may talk as if they have insight and have integrated trauma, often this superficial and unemotional narrative is an avoidance accompanied by dissociation and depersonalization"
I really relate to this - I think I feel emotionless many times, but there are 'waves of emotion' for me within instances - there are delays in my processing - I think I do avoid - I barely process some things, and maybe over-focus on other things.
p.7 "Each dissociative part of the patient's personality encompasses a unique perception of reality that can contradict the reality of other parts, with an amazing attitude of indifference toward profound inconsistencies"
This also makes sense to me.
The conclusion from p.8 that "the division of self is a solution to unbearable and irreconcilable realities' - that also makes sense.
Something that has meaning is on p.11 where it says "AS these young parts, the patient avoids the realization that sh eis now grown-up and must grieve what she did not receive in childhood."
p.13
"Some have a hyper-activated care-giving system, which is commonly referred to as codependence" - I didn't think of this possible definition of codependence, but I think I have this - it relates to my experience for definite.
I also really related to the description of Helen on p.17 where it says about Helen "Helen, a child who was smart and competent in school and functioned in daily life, but who avoided thinking or knowing about the abuse. Later, Helen only has the most fragmentary recall of childhood." I feel like that describes me for a large part of my life - it was like my memories colluded to block out the bad parts - trivialised them, minimised them, fragmented them. The book goes into details about the different parts of Helen, and I relate to the descriptions there. I won't repeat them as I think it's potentially too triggering to do so, but I really relate to all that is said there.
(I wasn't sure whether to start my notes about this book here or not - I know there was a group of people who had worked through an older edition of this book, and I was trying to find that section, and couldn't find it - so I have started here - but maybe it's ok for me to write here? I don't want to do the wrong thing, I feel a bit unsure whether it's ok to do this note-taking in this way, but I do find it helpful, and I re-read it - plus any comments people make. Anyway, I think I'll stop for now - so far I have read Chapter 1 in its entirety - and written these notes up to p.19 - so I hope to continue.
But I'll take a break now.
Hope
I hope to write a few notes from the book as I read it - I would invite anyone who wants to contribute their own comments etc to do so.
My thoughts about the book are - it is a really well put-together book - the titles of the chapters are really relevant, and I have read Chapter 1 - and found it very helpful so far.
Chapter 1: Dissociation as Non-Realisation
I relate to p.6 "Though patients may talk as if they have insight and have integrated trauma, often this superficial and unemotional narrative is an avoidance accompanied by dissociation and depersonalization"
I really relate to this - I think I feel emotionless many times, but there are 'waves of emotion' for me within instances - there are delays in my processing - I think I do avoid - I barely process some things, and maybe over-focus on other things.
p.7 "Each dissociative part of the patient's personality encompasses a unique perception of reality that can contradict the reality of other parts, with an amazing attitude of indifference toward profound inconsistencies"
This also makes sense to me.
The conclusion from p.8 that "the division of self is a solution to unbearable and irreconcilable realities' - that also makes sense.
Something that has meaning is on p.11 where it says "AS these young parts, the patient avoids the realization that sh eis now grown-up and must grieve what she did not receive in childhood."
p.13
"Some have a hyper-activated care-giving system, which is commonly referred to as codependence" - I didn't think of this possible definition of codependence, but I think I have this - it relates to my experience for definite.
I also really related to the description of Helen on p.17 where it says about Helen "Helen, a child who was smart and competent in school and functioned in daily life, but who avoided thinking or knowing about the abuse. Later, Helen only has the most fragmentary recall of childhood." I feel like that describes me for a large part of my life - it was like my memories colluded to block out the bad parts - trivialised them, minimised them, fragmented them. The book goes into details about the different parts of Helen, and I relate to the descriptions there. I won't repeat them as I think it's potentially too triggering to do so, but I really relate to all that is said there.
(I wasn't sure whether to start my notes about this book here or not - I know there was a group of people who had worked through an older edition of this book, and I was trying to find that section, and couldn't find it - so I have started here - but maybe it's ok for me to write here? I don't want to do the wrong thing, I feel a bit unsure whether it's ok to do this note-taking in this way, but I do find it helpful, and I re-read it - plus any comments people make. Anyway, I think I'll stop for now - so far I have read Chapter 1 in its entirety - and written these notes up to p.19 - so I hope to continue.
But I'll take a break now.
Hope