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Onno van der Hart, Paul Brown & Mariëtte Graafland (1999)
Trauma-induced dissociative amnesia in World War I combat soldiers.
Aust N Z J Psychiatry. 1999 Feb;33(1):37-46.
Abstract:OBJECTIVE: This study relates trauma-induced dissociative amnesia reported in World War I (WW I) studies of war trauma to contemporary findings of dissociative amnesia in victims of childhood sexual abuse. METHOD: Key diagnostic studies of post-traumatic amnesia in WW I combatants are surveyed. These cover phenomenology and the psychological dynamics of dissociation vis-a-vis repression. RESULTS: Descriptive evidence is cited for war trauma-induced dissociative amnesia. CONCLUSION: Posttraumatic amnesia extends beyond the experience of sexual and combat trauma and is a protean symptom, which reflects responses to the gamut of traumatic events.
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Onno van der Hart, Kathy Steele (1999)
Relieving or Reliving Childhood Trauma? A Commentary on Miltenburg and Singer (1997)
Theory & Psychology, Vol. 9, No. 4, 533-540 (1999)
Abstract: This paper describes theoretical and treatment assumptions about trauma treatment that are in marked contrast with those attributed to trauma therapists by Miltenburg and Singer (1997). Contrary to their assertion that trauma therapists believe reliving of child abuse is necessary, mainstream trauma treatment focuses on ego building and integrative capacities. It has long been recognized that reliving traumatic experiences may lead to exacerbation of symptoms. However, it has been equally long observed that those trauma survivors who are able to synthesize, realize and integrate their traumatic memories will experience dramatic improvement in quality of life. Miltenburg and Singer present excellent therapeutic approaches to stabilization. But their sweeping generalizations misrepresent the nature of current trauma therapy and therefore create the risk of withholding the opportunity for many survivors to heal rather than having to rely on 'abnormal' defense or coping strategies.
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Ellert R.S. Nijenhuis, Richard van Dyck, Philip Spinhoven, Onno van der Hart, Marlène Chatrou, Johan Vanderlinden, Franny Moene (1999)
Somatoform dissociation discriminates among diagnostic categories over and above general psychopathology
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, Vol. 33 Issue 4, 511 - 1999
doi:10.1046/j.1440-1614.1999.00601.x
Abstract: Objective: The primary aim of this study was to investigate the hypothesis that somatoform dissociation would differentiate among specific diagnostic categories after controlling for general psychopathology. Method: The Somatoform Dissocation Questionnaire (SDQ-20), the Dissociative Experiences Scale, and the Symptom Checklist-90-R were completed by patients with DSM-IV diagnoses of dissociative disorders (n = 44), somatoform disorders (n = 47), eating disorders (n = 50), bipolar mood disorder (n = 23), and a group of consecutive psychiatric outpatients with other psychiatric disorders (n = 45), mainly including anxiety disorders, depression, and adjustment disorder. Results: The SDQ-20 significantly differentiated among diagnostic groups in the hypothesised order of increasing somatoform dissociation, both before and after statistically controlling for general psychopathology. Somatoform dissociation was extreme in dissociative identity disorder, high in dissociative disorder, not otherwise specified, and increased in somatoform disorders, as well as in a subgroup of patients with eating disorders. In contrast with somatoform dissociation, psychological dissociation did not discriminate between bipolar mood disorder and somatoform disorders. Conclusions: Somatoform dissociation is a unique construct that discriminates among diagnostic categories. It is highly characteristic of dissociative disorder patients, a core feature in many patients with somatoform disorders, and an important symptom cluster in a subgroup of patients with eating disorders.
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