Somatoform Dissociation, Psychological Dissociation, and Specific Forms of Trauma

• Published in: Journal of trauma & dissociation 2001-03, Vol.1 (4), p.81-98
• Main Authors: Waller, Glenn, Hamilton, Kate, Elliott, Peter, Lewendon, Jane, Stopa, Lusia, Waters, Anne, Kennedy, Fiona, Lee, Gary, Pearson, Dave, Kennerley, Helen, Hargreaves, Isabel, Bashford, Vivia, Chalkley, Jack
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Biological and medical sciences; childhood trauma; Dissociation; Medical sciences; Miscellaneous; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; somatoform disorders; Somatoform disorders. Psychosomatics
• ISSN: 1529-9732; 1529-9740
• DOI: 10.1300/J229v01n04_05

Background: Childhood trauma is clearly associated with psychological dissociation a failure to integrate cognitive, behavioural and emotional aspects of experience. However, there is also evidence that trauma results in somatoform dissociation, where the individual fails to process somatic experiences adequately. Somatoform dissociation is linked to a number of psychiatric disorders that are relatively resistant to treatment. The present study addresses the hypothesis that somatoform dissociation will be associated specifically with childhood trauma that involves physical contact, rather than with non-contact forms of trauma. Methods: An unselected clinical group of 72 psychiatric patients completed standardized measures of childhood trauma, psychological dissociation, and somatoform dissociation. Results: The findings supported the hypothesis, with a specific link between somatoform dissociation and the severity of reported childhood trauma involving physical contact or injury. In contrast, psychological dissociation was associated with a wider range of non-contact trauma. Conclusions: Somatoform dissociation can be understood as a set of adaptive psychophysiologic responses to trauma where there is a threat of inescapable physical injury. Those responses are related to a range of psychiatric disorders, and are likely to interfere with treatment of those disorders. Clinicians may need to assess the nature and severity of childhood trauma and somatoform dissociation when there are high levels of somatic symptoms within psychiatric disorders that cannot be explained medically. Further research is needed to determine methods of treating somatoform dissociation, especially in the context of a history of trauma involving physical contact or injury.