Navigating dissociative disorders can be confusing and isolating. With extensive experience in this field, I offer a safe, understanding environment where we can explore your experiences and work towards greater integration and stability. My approach is gentle and personalized, ensuring you feel supported every step of the way.
I will work to create a safe and predictable place. We will work on grounded as this is a way to bring yourself into the present and out of past trauma. Many people are reporting feelings depersonalization since COVID. You are not alone.
Registered Social Worker, Registered Social Worker, MSW, RSW
Dissociative disorders manifest a profound interplay between the psyche's protective mechanisms and the echoes of past trauma. A person's sense of self can be shattered, resulting in a loss of identity and reality. This can be caused by events such as severe trauma, caregiver relationship problems, and early attachment experiences. Like a fragmented mosaic, dissociative symptoms manifest as a coping mechanism, shielding individuals from the unbearable weight of their past experiences. Therapy offers a sacred space for exploration and integration, gently guiding individuals through the labyrinth of dissociation to reclaim their sense of wholeness and connection. By fostering secure attachments and processing traumatic memories, individuals can mend the fractures of their psyche, forging a path towards healing and self-discovery.
DID, Dissociative disorders are most likely the aftermath of trauma exposure, clients experiencing dissociation can gain great results working through strategies to regulate emotions and anxiety episodes that elevate states of dissociation. Trauma processing such as EMDR and IFS can be helpful and exploring different ego states and parts that interfere with mindful experience and presence.
If you are experiencing symptoms of dissociation such as spaciness, depersonalization, derealization, disconnection from the body, ghost sensations or feelings in your body that don't have an organic cause, or noticing the inner fragmentation of parts of Self, then know that there is help and this can be worked on. Dissociation is essentially a defense mechanism that gets activated for you to be able to get away from distressing situations or feelings internally, when you can't do so externally. I specialize in dissociative disorders and you can email me for a free 30-minute phone consultation to discuss more.
Through my work with trauma survivors, I have come to work with the dissociative disorders. With a constant eye to safety and grounding, I have guided clients through reflective and experiential exercises to explore their understanding of their experiences and ways in which they may cope or overcome their perceptual challenges.
Since my undergraduate degree, I have been motivated to work with individuals experiencing dissociative disorders. I read a number of first-person accounts, as well as articles, and watched countless interviews with afflicted individuals, expert professionals, and close others in the early days of this pursuit. I continue to read what I can and gain insight from those afflicted, where possible.
Often an adaptive response to traumatic experiences, we might unconsciously dissociate in order to cope with the overwhelming impacts. My trauma-informed approach to working with dissociative states involves a phased approach toward healing that seeks to sensitively and safely reconnect us to our bodies, foster reintegration between the mind and body and restore a sense of agency, resiliency and emotional strength.