Art Therapy and Dissociative Disorders

Abstract

Dissociative disorders are characterized by disturbances of identity and memory exacerbated by childhood trauma. Research suggests that 5% to 10% of the population may meet the criteria for a dissociative disorder. Although much has been written in the last decade about the treatment and etiology of these disorders, studies show that they are frequently misdiagnosed and do not receive effective treatment. Most dissociative clients who come for counseling are not aware of either the trauma or their dissociative response. Once a dissociative disorder is identified, useful treatment can present time and resource conundrums for private practitioners and their clients.By accessing traumatic material and giving expression to hidden aspects of the personality, art therapy offers a unique way to help clients understand and begin working with the traumatic influences that shaped their lives. This paper demonstrates how art therapy helped a woman begin to address her identity and memory difficulties and still manage her daily activities. The process helped validate for the client that there were traumatic events in her history and provided a starting point for addressing her internal conflicts. For the therapist, the artwork served as access to and communication with unconscious (dissociated) states.

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