Week 9: Dissociative Disorders NRNP-6665-15-PMHNP Across the Lifespan

Controversy Associated with Dissociative Disorders 1. What is the controversy regarding dissociative disorders? The controversy regarding dissociative disorders is the confusion in the diagnosis between personality disorder and dissociative disorder due to the similarity in symptoms occurring between the two. In 1988, this confusion led to the denial of medical care to patients that were then diagnosed with dissociative disorders despite the suicidal risk that this posed. The second controversy was the meaning of the observed symptoms with confusion on its diagnosis as a unique disorder or whether the clinicians could prescribe what they could not see. The third was the fear that criminals will be let off by the justice system due to a claimed diagnosis of the disorder, making the criminal not be held accountable for their actions. The foundation of the DID is that first-person accounts of dissociation based on existing diagnostic measures areinvalid due to the scales' construction. The way these scales are created, it is claimed, increases false positives. 2. Explain your professional beliefs about dissociative disorders, supporting your rationale with at least three scholarly references from the literature. Dissociative disorder, in comparison to personality disorder, has no; unique picture,unique laboratory test, unique natural history, or familial pattern. In dissociative disorder, there are also auto-hypnotic and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms that likely were a response tochildhood sexual abuse. The multiplicity of symptoms associated with dissociative disorders, includes insomnia, sexual dysfunction, anger, suicide, self-mutilation, drug and alcohol abuse, anxiety, paranoia, somatization, dissociation, mood changes, and pathological changes in relationships. Dissociative disorder is therefore characterized as a disorder of extreme stress,