Therapy for Dissociative Disorders

Get matched with a therapist for dissociative disorders 

Dissociative disorders cause you to feel disconnected from yourself, your loved ones, and the world around you as a means to escape difficult emotions, painful memories, or the effects of trauma. A dissociative disorder often develops as a coping mechanism when a child or young adult and causes significant problems in your life. Get matched with an Ellie therapist who can help you recover and cope. 

Do you often feel detached, disconnected, or out of place? 

When faced with great stress or trauma, your mind might dissociate – or cause you to feel disconnected from your thoughts, your body, and your environment. It’s not uncommon for someone to experience a dissociative episode when faced with a stressful situation, and dissociation can sometimes be a symptom of other mental health disorders, such as depression, PTSD, and bipolar disorder. However, if you have a dissociative disorder, you likely become detached more frequently and experience difficulties as a result of your disorder. 

Dissociative disorders can greatly impact your life. You may feel your surroundings are unreal or even forget who you are and take on a new identity. You also will have difficulties coping with stress and trauma in healthy, productive ways. There are several dissociative disorders that you can be diagnosed with: 

• Dissociative identity disorder: Previously referred to as multiple personality disorder, DID can make it feel like you have more than personality inside your mind, which each has its own set of mannerisms, thought patterns, memories, and traits. You may switch personalities when faced with a stressful situation.  
• Dissociative amnesia:  This type of dissociative disorder can cause you to forget certain events in your life and is not caused by physical trauma or issues with the brain. Often, the forgotten people, places, and events are connected to a past trauma. While you may not remember the event, you may still get triggered by things connected to the traumatic event. The amnesia can be so severe you may forget everything about your life, including your name and past. 
• Depersonalization-derealization disorder: DDD can make you feel as if the world around you is not real. You might feel like you’re watching your life from the outside, that you or others aren’t really human, that time has slowed down or sped up, or that your body appears distorted. You may also feel disconnected from your emotions and feel numb. 

The goals of therapy for dissociative disorders   

Living with a dissociative disorder can be very frightening – for yourself and your loved ones. They can cause serious impairment in your relationships and make it difficult to hold a job, manage your responsibilities, or care for yourself and others. Here is how your Ellie therapist can help you manage and recover from a dissociative disorder: 

• Help you better understand your symptoms, the cause of your condition, and how it is impacting your life
• Talk with you about how you manage stress and difficult emotions and help you develop healthy ways of handling stressful situations
• Help you process, accept, and cope with past traumas in your childhood and adulthood that may be causing you to disassociate
• Practice grounding techniques, such as deep breathing, sensory exercises, meditation, taking a walk, and moving or exercising 
• Develop strategies to help you remember key events during an episode, such as leaving notes or keeping a journal

Let’s work through your bipolar disorder together    

Living with bipolar disorder can be exhausting and scary. You might feel like you have little control over how you feel or act, and your mood fluctuations can cause you to struggle with your identity. It can also be challenging for your loved ones to understand your condition, and they may not know how to interact with you during periods of depression, mania, or hypomania. Your therapist will help you navigate these challenges and find stability.