The Nature of Trauma and Dissociation

The treatment of dissociative identity disorder

Here, Valerie Sinason describes trauma as an event that could not be defended against and which thus breaks through the psychic skin to leave a raw wound. She discusses the influence of psychoanalytic theorizts in her conceptualization of the unconscious, distinguishing between repression and dissociation. The self-protective function of dissociative splits in the context of childhood sexual abuse is discussed. The problem of sexual and ritual abuse in our society is considered within a socio-political framework.