Dissoziation

Dissociation and dissociative disorders represent a heterogenous phenomenology of symptoms which are understood as a result of the disintegration of certain usually integrated functions of the psyche. Despite an ongoing debate among scientists about its causation the assumption of a trauma-related etiology is carried forward both in clinical and scientific contexts. Therapists often believe dissociation to constitute an infirm basis for psychotherapeutic treatments. Contrarily, research suggests several kinds of therapeutic interventions and combinations thereof in particular, to be effective in relieving patients even of complex dissociation if certain requirements are met. This review summarizes the historical and conceptual implications as well as recent developments in the concept, diagnosis and therapy of dissociation.