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Emotional Dissociation in Response to Trauma

An Information-Processing Approach

  • Chapter
Handbook of Dissociation

Abstract

Pathological reactions to trauma and extreme stress have been noted in the psychological literature for over a century. These reactions were codified in the psychiatric literature as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (American Psychiatric Association, 1980). The diagnosis of PTSD is made when posttrauma symptoms occur in three domains: emotional, cognitive, and visual reexperiencing of the trauma; avoidance of trauma-relevant stimuli; and general arousal. Since the inception of PTSD as a diagnostic entity, experts have focused on the fear and anxiety components of the disorder (Foa, Steketee, & Rothbaum, 1989; Keane, Zimering, & Caddell, 1985). More recently, trauma researchers have become interested in the phenomenon of affective and cognitive avoidance that is commonly observed following a trauma and has been referred to as dissociation (e.g., Spiegel, Hunt, & Dondershine, 1988), denial (Horowitz, 1986; van der Kolk, 1987), or numbing (e.g., Foa, Riggs, & Gershuny, 1995; Horowitz, Wilner, Kaltreider, & Alvarez, 1980; Litz, 1993; van der Kolk & Ducey, 1989). Common to these constructs is a diminished awareness of one’s emotions or thoughts, which is hypothesized to be motivated by self-preservation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety, Medical College of Pennsylvania, Eastern Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19129, USA

    Edna B. Foa

  2. National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Women’s Health and Sciences Division, Boston Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, 02130, USA

    Diana Hearst-Ikeda

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  1. Edna B. Foa
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  2. Diana Hearst-Ikeda
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA

    Larry K. Michelson  & William J. Ray  & 

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Foa, E.B., Hearst-Ikeda, D. (1996). Emotional Dissociation in Response to Trauma. In: Michelson, L.K., Ray, W.J. (eds) Handbook of Dissociation. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0310-5_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0310-5_10

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