Dissociation is an incredible tool that our body and minds have learned to utilize in extremely distressing situations. A coping strategy that was helpful once, often may not be in 10, 20, 30 etc years. Unfortunately, coping strategies don't develop in the linear ways that human beings are expected too. Despite the traumatic events that may have caused dissociation, humans do have more access and resources available to them in adulthood. These extra resources can mean learning and implementing more helpful strategies that align with who you are present day. It is my greatest honor to work with humans with these magnificent coping strategies. While we learn new strategies, we will work to integrate the fragmented parts into the whole being that you are.
Dissociation is the mind's great ability to protect you and help you get through extreme overwhelm and hardship. We all have the ability to do it. It's on a continuum. When it's not seen as a disorder, it shows up as numbing or being on auto-pilot (like when you forget to take your exit driving and you say "my mind was somewhere else"). When it's a disorder, it can have tremendous impacts on many areas in your life. Focusing on integration and stabilization becomes key. We combine trauma informed care with the structural dissociation theory of personality, along with practices informed by internal family systems to deliver a tailored approach, in addition to trauma therapy that targets the root causes.
Licensed Professional Counsellor, Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC)
Dissociation is often linked to a trauma response. Trauma is a reaction that individuals have in response to an event that they perceive as overwhelming. Responses to trauma can be so overwhelming that completing daily tasks, such as going to work or getting out of bed may be a struggle. A significant symptom of trauma is feeling as if the traumatic event is still happening, sometimes, even years after the event occurred. In order to protect from the perceived traumatic event, it is understandable that people may choose to "check out" or "dissociate" from the experience. One of the downfalls of dissociation is that individuals are brought further away from the present moment, which is safe and non-threatening. In our work together I provide strategies to cope with dissociation in order to feel safe and gain renewed hope for the future.