Dissociation

A natural but complex phenomenon involving redirection of conscious awareness away from present-focused, external experiences. One of the first coping mechanisms available to humans beginning in infancy, dissociation can entail absorption in vivid memories, shutdown of cognitive processing, or retreat to imagined or remembered safe places in the face of dangerous, threatening or overwhelming circumstances. Occurs on a continuum of frequency and extent of disconnection from conscious awareness. Complex trauma exposure, especially in early childhood, linked to overreliance upon dissociative coping and emergence of more extreme and maladaptive forms of dissociation, including extensive fragmentation of personality attributes, memories and behaviors. Controversial in the field of psychiatry, dissociation is often misunderstood or overlooked in clinical practice. While recognized by experts as a primary domain of complex trauma impact, many trauma treatment do not directly or thoroughly address it. The principle therapeutic focus of the CBP intervention model.