Dissociation & Trauma
EMDR
Hypnosis
Cognitive-behavioral approaches
Phenomenology
Psychoanalysis
Sullivanian and Rogerian approaches
Preparation in Areas of Specialization
Prior to 1980, I had been doing psychotherapy with severely traumatized
clients. As a result, I began using various therapeutic tools
(abreaction, hypnosis, desensitization or exposure) to assist them. One
of my clients ended up diagnosable as Dissociative Identity Disorder. In
the early 80s, there was almost no information or training about
dissociation available to the mental health profession. As a result, I
attended the very first conference on dissociation in 1984, and, since
then, have attended every conference but one. I have been conversant
with most of the developments in dissociation throughout the past 18
years. At the same time, I have researched and remained current on the
issues associated with trauma, a significant factor associated with
dissociation, and its treatment. This eventually led me to get training
in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). Currently, I am
a member of the Board of the International Society for the Study of
Dissociation (ISSD). As well, I am one of 12 individuals selected
worldwide to teach an ISSD sponsored course in the Dissociative
Disorders Psychotherapy Training Program (DDPTP). My section will begin
in September, 2002, and meet monthly in the Cincinnati area.
I have presented and published many papers on dissociation and trauma.
At CMU, doctoral students came to learn from me about dissociation and
its treatment. I trained about a dozen students over the years to work
with the dissociative disorders. I had a Dissociation Research Group
that focused on research in dissociation.
I have published one of the few theories of dissociation and I have
begun to apply that theory to psychotherapy of the dissociative
disorders. The theory and its application in treatment is different than
mainstream perspectives. They theory is based on how an individual must
perceive in order to dissociate. The theory made various unusual
predictions – that reactive dissociation during a trauma is not
defensive, that there should be different dissociative reactions
depending on the type of trauma, and that there should be dissociative
reactions during positive situations. All of these predictions were
supported by data in our studies.
With one of my doctoral students, I co-led a support group over a
duration of 3 years for DID individuals. This was an unusual group in
that it met monthly and focused on day to day coping rather than
in-depth therapy. Every group member needed to be in individual therapy.
When I moved from the central Michigan area July 2001, my specialty
areas were dissociation and trauma, and over half of my case load was
such cases.
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