Somatoform and Dissociative Disorders Chapter 14, Lecture 4 “It is little comfort to be told that the problem is ‘all in your head.’ Although the symptoms may be psychological in origin, they are nevertheless genuinely felt.” - David Myers

Somatoform Disorders Psychological disorders in which the symptoms take a somatic (bodily) form without apparent physical cause. With conversion disorder, specific, genuine, and often significant physical symptoms are present with no physiological basis. Hypochondriasis involves the interpretation of normal physical sensations as symptoms of a disease.

Dissociative Disorders Conscious awareness becomes separated (dissociated) from previous memories, thoughts, and feelings. Symptoms 1.Having a sense of being unreal. 2.Being separated from the body. 3.Watching yourself as if in a movie.

Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) A disorder in which a person exhibits two or more distinct and alternating personalities, formerly called multiple personality disorder. Chris Sizemore (DID) Lois Bernstein/ Gamma Liason

DID Critics Critics argue that the diagnosis of DID increased in the late 20 th century. DID has not been found in other countries. Critics’ Arguments 1.Role-playing by people open to a therapist’s suggestion. 2.Learned response that reinforces reductions in anxiety.

The Curious Experiences Inventory Handout represents the shortened version of Lewis R. Goldberg’s The Curious Experiences Survey, which measures self-reported dissociative experiences. Total score is simply the sum of the numbers placed before the 17 items. Thus, scores can range from 17 to 85, with higher scores reflecting more experience with dissociation.

The Curious Experiences Inventory Analysis of the full-length 31-item scale revealed the presence of three factors in dissociation: depersoaliza- tion (“Had the experience of feeling that my body did not belong to me”), self-absorption (“Find that I sometimes sit staring off in space, thinking of nothing, and am not aware of the passage of time”), and amnesia (“Found evidence that I had done things that I did not remember doing”).

The Curious Experiences Inventory The frequency of self-reported dissociation was positively correlated with measures of neuroticism (particularly depression) and imagination, and negatively related to conscientiousness (particularly dutifulness), agreeableness, and, to a lesser extent, age. No relationships were found with gender, educational level, intelligence, vocational skills, or self-reported skills.

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