Abstract
This article examines the dynamics of dissociation, its function, and cautions in its treatment. Determining the functionality and dysfunctionality is complex. When taken within the framework of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, throughout a life span, the complexity and its functionality emerges. Through working with patients with Dissociative Identity Disorder over three decades, there are assumptions that are frequently made by clinicians which are inaccurate and potentially harmful to the therapeutic relationship, treatment efforts, and the patients. How does our mind protect itself when some aspect of reality is too painful to cope with? Like any natural response to pain, we have psychological mechanisms which protect us from severe emotional trauma. For our mind, one of those mechanisms is dissociation. It allows us to continue to function in everyday life without experiencing what could be debilitating emotional pain.
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