Controversy Associated with Dissociative Disorders-A Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example

Controversy Associated with Dissociative Disorders-A Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example

Dissociative disorders entail mental health conditions such as dissociative amnesia, dissociative identity, derealization, or depolarization. The disorders disrupt one or more mental functions ranging from identity, memory, consciousness, perception, and motor behavior. However, the condition has been linked to controversies, ethical issues, and myths. Thus, mental health practitioners should consider the controversies while dealing with patients diagnosed with the condition to improve the management outcomes. This paper will discuss controversies surrounding dissociative disorders, professional beliefs, strategies for maintaining therapeutic relationships with patients, and ethical and legal issues that should be considered when dealing with the condition.(Controversy Associated with Dissociative Disorders-A Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example)

Controversy Surrounding Dissociative Disorders

The main controversy about dissociative disorders is whether the symptoms encountered are real or fake. The controversies arise as understanding the condition is complicated for most people. Thus, comprehension of the diagnosis requires in-depth research that many people dismiss. First, there are beliefs that the condition is a psychological phenomenon that emanates from role-playing by people manipulated by psychologists. Other controversies claim that the diagnosis results from childhood trauma, although the proof that abuse memory is real has not been substantiated (Boland et al., 2022). The controversy can be regarded as a casualty relating to repressed memories where people pretend they experienced childhood trauma but cannot recall how it happened. Some argue that the disorders are anxiety-related, especially among fantasy-prone and sleep-deprived people. Some people claim that the disorders are unreal but are used by people to evade the consequences of their wrong behaviors. (Controversy Associated with Dissociative Disorders-A Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example)

Professional Beliefs

I believe that dissociative disorders are real. The many controversies surrounding the disorders result from a lack of proper health education. Moreover, dissociative disorder symptoms are less obvious to people, especially those without psychological or psychiatric training. For this reason, many people encounter problems differentiating the diagnosis from other disorders. However, Mychailyszyn et al. (2021) assert that the study of dissociative disorders has addressed the increased demand to offer accurate assessment, diagnosis, and treatment for people with DDs. The research adds that the comprehensive description of DDs patients’ etiologies, symptoms, and intervention strategies will help curb misunderstanding and misdiagnosis.(Controversy Associated with Dissociative Disorders-A Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example)

Subsequently, the disorder is rare and affects about 1.5% of the world population (Boland et al., 2022). As such, many people have not encountered or heard about the DDs leading to many controversies. However, DSM-V-TR claims that DDs are common problems, especially among children. The disorders lead to amnesia, memory loss, and self-identification crisis, where people may have two or more personality states characterized by sudden changes in behavior and attitude, leading to confusion and potential emotional distress (Zimmermann et al., 2019).(Controversy Associated with Dissociative Disorders-A Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example)

Maintaining Therapeutic Relationships with DDs Patients

Effective management of DDs requires a health professional to maintain therapeutic relationships with their patients. Targeting patients’ and therapists’ safety while addressing individual patient needs improves health outcomes. First, safety is the first strategy to maintain therapeutic relationships since fear and uncertainty trigger DDs symptoms (Hussain, 2023). The therapist should start by reassuring the patient and minimizing potential noise to prevent triggering dissociative symptoms. The therapist should acknowledge the patient’s dissociative episodes and recommend better ways to manage them. Secondly, psychotherapy can assist the patient in coping with dissociative reactions. The therapists should discuss their experiences with the patient to improve their memories, behavior, and emotions to become more self-aware (Subramanyam et al., 2020). Individualized therapy over the group is an effective strategy to improve health outcomes when dealing with DDs patients. The patients may encounter problems when communicating in group therapies, leading to confusion that triggers dissociative reactions. Individualized therapy improves DDs’ patient confidence and provides them with more time to understand their behavior and thoughts.(Controversy Associated with Dissociative Disorders-A Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example)

Ethical and Legal Considerations

Mental health professionals should consider potential legal and ethical issues related to DDs. First, the therapists should obtain informed consent while obtaining or using patient information and conducting any examination. Thus, the patients know what to expect, potential risks, and benefits (Avasthi et al., 2021). The therapist should also not harm the patient and should maintain a high level of confidentiality. Subsequently, legal issues arise when therapists fail to observe ethical guidelines. For instance, harming or exposing the patient’s identifiable information may attract legal suits (Kedare et al., 2023). Legal issues may also arise when the therapist is supposed to give testimony in court about the patient’s state. In this case, the therapists should seek consent from the patient. The therapist should also inform the patient of the circumstances when their information can be released when beginning the treatment to evade potential legal issues.(Controversy Associated with Dissociative Disorders-A Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example)

References

Avasthi, A., Grover, S., & Nischal, A. (2022). Ethical and legal issues in psychotherapy. Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 64(Suppl 1), S47(Controversy Associated with Dissociative Disorders-A Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example). https://doi.org/10.4103%2Findianjpsychiatry.indianjpsychiatry_50_21

Boland, R. Verdiun, M. L. & Ruiz, P. (2022). Kaplan & Sadock’s synopsis of psychiatry (12th ed.). Wolters Kluwer. (Controversy Associated with Dissociative Disorders-A Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example)

Hussain, E. (2023). Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behaviour Therapy in an Adolescent with Mixed-Dissociative Disorder: A Case Study. Case Reports in Psychiatry, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1155/2023/1356682

Kedare, J. S., Baliga, S. P., & Kadiani, A. M. (2023). Clinical Practice Guidelines for Assessment and Management of Dissociative Disorders Presenting as Psychiatric Emergencies. Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 65(2), 186(Controversy Associated with Dissociative Disorders-A Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example). https://doi.org/10.4103%2Findianjpsychiatry.indianjpsychiatry_493_22

Mychailyszyn, M. P., Brand, B. L., Webermann, A. R., Şar, V., & Draijer, N. (2021). Differentiating Dissociative from Non-Dissociative Disorders: A Meta-Analysis of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM Dissociative Disorders (SCID-D) Journal of Trauma and Dissociation. Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, 22(1), 19-34. (Controversy Associated with Dissociative Disorders-A Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example)https://www.tandfonline.com/action/showCitFormats?doi=10.1080/15299732.2020.1760169

Subramanyam, A. A., Somaiya, M., Shankar, S., Nasirabadi, M., Shah, H. R., Paul, I., & Ghildiyal, R. (2020). Psychological interventions for dissociative disorders. Indian journal of psychiatry, 62(Suppl 2), S280. (Controversy Associated with Dissociative Disorders-A Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example)https://doi.org/10.4103%2Fpsychiatry.IndianJPsychiatry_777_19

Zimmermann, J., Kerber, A., Rek, K., Hopwood, C. J., & Krueger, R. F. (2019). A brief but comprehensive review of research on the alternative DSM-5 model for personality disorders. Current psychiatry reports, 21, 1-19. (Controversy Associated with Dissociative Disorders-A Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example)https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-019-1079-z