The Haunted Self: Structural Dissociation and the Treatment of Chronic Traumatization (Norton Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology)

Structural dissociation involves hindrance or breakdown of a natural progression toward integration of psychobiological systems of the personality that have been described as discrete behavioral states (Putnam, 1997). It involves a chronic integrative deficit largely due to a combination of the child’s immature integrative brain structures and func

We describe the division of personality in terms of dissociative parts of the personality. This choice of term emphasizes the fact that dissociative parts of the personality together constitute one whole, yet are self-conscious, have at least a rudimentary sense of self, and are generally more complex than a single psychobiological state. These dis

Trauma-related structural dissociation, then, is a deficiency in the cohesiveness and flexibility of the personality structure (Resch, 2004). This deficiency does not mean that the personality is completely split into different “systems of ideas and functions,” but rather that there is a lack of cohesion and coordination among these systems that co

The first category of action systems that make up personality involves action systems that support individuals in efforts to adapt to daily life; the second category pertains to the action systems for defense from major threat, and recuperation. Whereas evolution has prepared us both for tasks of daily living and for survival under threat, we are n

Structural dissociation is a particular organization in which different psychobiological subsystems of the personality are unduly rigid and closed to each other. These features lead to a lack of coherence and coordination within the survivor’s personality as a whole.