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Dissociative disorders are characterized by a disruption of and/or discontinuity
in the normal integration of consciousness, memory, identity, emotion, perception, body
representation, motor control, and behavior. Dissociative symptoms can potentially dis-
rupt every area of psychological functioning. This chapter includes dissociative identity
disorder, dissociative amnesia, depersonalization/derealization disorder, other specified
dissociative disorder, and unspecified dissociative disorder.
Dissociative symptoms are experienced as a) unbidden intrusions into awareness and
behavior, with accompanying losses of continuity in subjective experience (i.e., ‘‘positive’’
dissociative symptoms such as fragmentation of identity, depersonalization, and dereal-
ization) and/or b) inability to access information or to control mental functions that nor-
mally are readily amenable to access or control (i.e., “negative’’ dissociative symptoms such
as amnesia).
The dissociative disorders are frequently found in the aftermath of trauma, and many
of the symptoms, including embarrassment and confusion about the symptoms or a desire
to hide them, are influenced by the proximity to trauma. In DSM-5, the dissociative disor-
ders are placed next to, but are not part of, the trauma- and stressor-related disorders, re-
flecting the close relationship between these diagnostic classes. Both acute stress disorder
and posttraumatic stress disorder contain dissociative symptoms, such as amnesia, flash-
backs, numbing, and depersonalization/derealization.