Karin E Peuschel
Meissenberg Clinic Inc., Switzerland
Title: Dissociation and addiction: Psychotherapy of unresolved emotional conflicts and of associated dissociative personalities in the safe place removes trauma-related introjects and related symptoms, including auditory hallucinations
Biography
Biography: Karin E Peuschel
Abstract
Psychotherapy of unresolved emotional confl icts may be used to effi ciently treat dissociative disorder. Th is is based on the
assumption that dissociation is caused by severe confl icts with perpetrators and that resolution of confl icts may alleviate
symptoms. Confl icts with perpetrators as well as with passive participants are treated equally, starting with the more severe
confl icts with perpetrators, since they appear to be related to the most severe symptoms. Dissociative disorder may be present
in addiction and may be suspected in patients consuming heavier drugs, especially heroine or methadone. Dissociative
disorder in addiction may be more psycho form and therefore much less obvious to diagnose than somatoform dissociation,
but can be diagnosed with tests of dissociation like the DES, the S.D.Q.-20, and the SCID-D. Patients with addiction have been
treated with psychotherapy of unresolved emotional confl icts controlling the success of psychotherapy via the disappearance of
dissociative personalities in a safe place scenario, as well as through monitoring of reduced psychiatric symptoms and auditive
hallucinations, sometimes manifesting up to several weeks aft er a psychotherapy session. Additive hallucinations were related
to specifi c dissociative or so-called emotional personalities. Negative emotions linked to specifi c dissociative personalities may
be creating a constant urge to the continued use of drugs in addiction.