Psychosis, Trauma and Dissociation

An invaluable sourcebook on the complex relationship between psychosis, trauma, and dissociation, thoroughly revised and updated.

This revised and updated second edition of Psychosis, Trauma and Dissociation offers an important resource that takes a wide-ranging and in-depth look at the multifaceted relationship between trauma, dissociation, and psychosis. The editors—leaders in their field—have drawn together more than fifty noted experts from around the world to canvas the relevant literature from historical, conceptual, empirical, and clinical perspectives. The result documents the impressive gains made over the past ten years in understanding multiple aspects of the interface between trauma, dissociation, and psychosis.

The historical/conceptual section clarifies the meaning of the terms dissociation, trauma, and psychosis, proposes dissociation as central to the historical concepts of schizophrenia and borderline personality disorder, and considers unique development perspectives on delusions and the onset of schizophrenia. The empirical section of the text compares and contrasts psychotic and dissociative disorders from a wide range of perspectives, including phenomenology, childhood trauma, and memory and cognitive disturbances, whilst the clinical section focuses on the assessment, differential diagnosis, and treatment of these disorders, along with proposals for new and novel hybrid disorders. This important resource:

• Offers extensive updated coverage of the field, from all relevant perspectives.
• Brings together in one text contributions from scholars and clinicians working in diverse geographical and theoretical areas.
• Helps define and bring cohesion to this new and important field.
• Features nine new chapters on: conceptions of trauma, dissociation and psychosis, PTSD with psychotic features, delusions and memory, trauma treatment of psychotic symptoms, and differences between the diagnostic groups on hypnotizability, memory disturbances, brain imaging, auditory verbal hallucinations, and psychological testing.

Written for clinicians, researchers, and academics in the areas of trauma, child abuse, dissociation, and psychosis, but relevant for psychiatrists, psychologists, and psychotherapists working in any area, the revised second edition of Psychosis, Trauma and Dissociation makes an invaluable contribution to this important evolving field.