Working with Clients with Dissociative Disorders

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Presenter: Andrew Johnson, LPC, NCC, MARS, EMDR-CT

Dissociative disorders are often misdiagnosed or dismissed by our healthcare system. Many clients are misdiagnosed as having schizophrenia, bipolar, or borderline personality disorder. Some clients are even told by medical professionals that their lived experiences are fantasies or that they are malingerers. In reality, these individuals may struggle with feeling detached, being confused, and having “gaps” in memory, which can significantly impact their daily functioning and interpersonal relationships. This workshop will help clinicians understand the complexities of working with dissociative clients and provide appropriate treatment approaches.

What You Can Expect to Learn:

The presentation will address current theories of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and dissociation, including case conceptualization, treatment planning, and therapeutic approaches. This workshop is intended for mental health professionals interested in developing skills to treat clients with chronic trauma-related dissociative disorders.

Participants will leave this workshop with an understanding of how to recognize and assess for dissociation, how these clinical presentations relate to trauma, and what treatment approaches are supported in the research literature. Participants will add additional tools to assess dissociative disorders and learn how to implement the most effective treatment approaches for their clients.

Learning Objectives:

• Define dissociation and dissociative disorders
• Identify different types of dissociation and dissociative disorders.
• Understand Van der Hart’s Theory of Structural Dissociation of the Personality.
• Identify other parts (alters) and their roles in the internal organization of the psyche in dissociative disorders.
• Recognize essential factors in the treatment of clients with dissociative disorders.
• Apply theory to real-world cases.
• Obtain new information to assist in case conceptualization and treatment planning.
• Explore techniques for working with dissociative disorders, including treatment phases, window of tolerance, system mapping, grounding techniques, etc.

This workshop meets the qualifications for 3.5  hours of continuing education units approved by NBCC under provider number 7044.