La théorie de la dissociation structurelle de la personnalité pour conceptualiser et traiter la psychose dissociative : deux études de cas

Abstract

ObjectivesWe present the theory of the structural dissociation of the personality as a way to conceptualize dissociative psychosis and illustrate this with two case studies. This theory was developed to help understand trauma related disorders, i.e. dissociative disorders. In line with Janet's work, this theory states that a traumatic event can lead to a division (dissociation) of the personality in two or more parts: an apparently normal part of the personality deals with daily life activities and avoids the traumatic memories, and one or more emotional parts of the personality stay fixated on the traumatic experience and can reach a certain autonomy as in dissociative identity disorder. Dissociative psychosis is understood as the intrusion of emotional parts into the apparently normal part, which gets overwhelmed, with psychotic-like intrusions. In the most severe cases, an emotional part takes over the executive role over a long period of time. Patients/methodsThe first case study is a male patient suffering from repetitive (at least once a year) psychotic episodes with a normal nonpsychotic functioning between episodes. Main psychotic symptoms are mystic delusions, verbal auditory hallucinations and disorganized thinking. Hypnotherapeutic interventions allowed an evaluation of a possible structural dissociation, which then led to the diagnostic of dissociative psychosis. A psychotherapy based on the theory of structural dissociation was then engaged. The second case study is a female patient with depersonalization disorder and a dissociative psychosis several weeks after the traumatic birth of her twin children. Psychotic symptoms were mystic, referential and persecutory delusions. ResultsIn the first case, after three years of adapted psychotherapy, the patient showed no relapse of dissociative psychosis and did not need any hospitalization. A single risk of relapse was avoided with one session of adapted hypno-imaginative interventions. In the second case, after three sessions of hypnotherapeutic treatment based on the theory of the structural dissociation of the personality, the patient was symptom free, also at two and half years follow up. ConclusionsThe theory of the structural dissociation of the personality is useful in conceptualizing dissociative psychosis. Hypnotherapeutic and hypno-imaginative interventions with a light trance and adapted to this theory can be useful in the treatment of such a disorder. Such interventions can help clinicians enter the patient's inner world to better understand the meaning of the symptoms and then suggest a resolution for the trauma related emotional parts involved in the expression of the psychotic-like symptoms. We discuss the necessity of an official diagnostic for this disorder that could be better named reactive dissociative psychosis or reactive dissociative disorder with psychotic features. Clinicians need to be aware of this specific diagnostic that may benefit from specific psychotherapeutic interventions, probably better adapted than those needed for real psychotic disorders.