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ForwardHow Denial of Dissociation Impacts Child and Adolescent Treatment
Abstract
In this workshop, the presenter will present several distinct cases where lack of acceptance of dissociation as a childhood diagnosis had extreme negative impact on a child or teen's welfare. In one case the boy was diagnosed with a psychotic disorder, put on heavy medication and did not progress in treatment until dissociation was identified and treated, In another case, a 9 year old girl with disturbed eating was put on an eating disorder program for teens where her diagnosis of dissociation was missed and where she regressed to life-threatening weight loss. In another case a teen was diagnosed with a sleep disorder and a seizure disorder and her dissociative nighttime episodes were not addressed therapeutically. When the night time behaviors were understood as dissociation she rapidly progressed. Another child had an autistic spectrum diagnosis before dissociation was recognized.These cases illustrate the key importance of considering dissociation as a viable diagnosis among teens and children. The current diagnostic neglect and denial of dissociation in children and teens has harmful impact on youth who can benefit from knowledgeable dissociation focused interventions.
In this workshop, the presenter will present several distinct cases where lack of acceptance of dissociation as a childhood diagnosis had extreme negative impact on a child or teen's welfare. In one case the boy was diagnosed with a psychotic disorder, put on heavy medication and did not progress in treatment until dissociation was identified and treated, In another case, a 9 year old girl with disturbed eating was put on an eating disorder program for teens where her diagnosis of dissociation was missed and where she regressed to life-threatening weight loss. In another case a teen was diagnosed with a sleep disorder and a seizure disorder and her dissociative nighttime episodes were not addressed therapeutically. When the night time behaviors were understood as dissociation she rapidly progressed. Another child had an autistic spectrum diagnosis before dissociation was recognized.These cases illustrate the key importance of considering dissociation as a viable diagnosis among teens and children. The current diagnostic neglect and denial of dissociation in children and teens has harmful impact on youth who can benefit from knowledgeable dissociation focused interventions.
This session was originally presented as a live conference session in April 2023.
Target Audience
Intermediate
Learning Objectives
At the conclusion of this session participants will be able to:
- Identify sleep anomalies in children and teens that may be symptomatic of dissociation
- Contrast a typical eating disorder treatment protocol with one based on principles of addressing underlying dissociation
- Identify similarities between young traumatized children presenting with dissociation and those presenting with autism specturm disorder
- Describe specific risks to teens and adolescents when dissociative processes are not identified
- Distinguish symptoms associated with seizure disorders with typical dissociative presentations in teens
Presenter: Joyanna Silberg, PhD
Presenter Bio: Dr Silberg has a Ph. D. from Ohio State University in 1979 in clinical child psychology. She worked as senior consultant for child and adolescent trauma disorders at Sheppard Pratt Hospital from 2013 to 2020 and currently operates a private practice named Childhood Recovery Resources where she assesses and treats children and adolescents with dissociative disorders. She is author The Child Survivor: Healing Developmental Trauma and Dissociation, 2nd Edition, 2022 and numerous articles and book chapter. Dr. Silberg teaches nationally and internationally on the treatment of dissociation in children and adolescents. She has received The ISST-D Cornelia Wilbur Award, and the Media Award for the first edition of The Child Survivor: Healing Developmental Trauma and Dissociation. She served as the President of the International Society for the Study of Dissociation in 2000-2001. She received the WIlliam Friederich Award for her work on Child Sexual Abuse in 2010 by the institute on Violence, Abuse & Trauma. She has served as Director for the NISHAMA project which has studied and provided treatment and therapist supervision for a cohort of children who were victims of organized abuse. She has trained judges and court personnel on the prevalence and identification of victims of child sexual abuse and domestic violence. Currenty, she is a member of The Professional Consortium on Abuse Allegations in Family Court as representative from the Leadership Council on Child Abuse & Interepersonal Violence where she will be presenting a professional curriculum to on detection of abuse to lawyers and mental health professionals.
Available Credit
- 1.50 APAThe International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
- 1.50 ASWB ACEThe International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD), #1744, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. ISSTD maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period: 08/20/2021 – 08/20/2024. Social workers completing this course receive 1.50 continuing education credits.
- 1.50 ISSTD Certificate ProgramThis program is eligible for 1.50 credits in the ISSTD Certificate Program.
Price
ISSTD Member cost:
$35.00
Your Price:
$55.00
"Your Price" above reflects your final price based on your membership status and career level.
- ISSTD defines a student as those enrolled in a program of study leading to a degree or certification in the mental health field and who have an interest in trauma and dissociation.
- ISSTD defines an emerging professional as mental health professionals who have completed an advanced degree and are in the first three years of their career (or first three years after graduation for researchers).
- If you do not fall into one of the above categories please register as Professional/Retired.
These prices are for Tier I countries. For a list of countries by Tier click here. If you are located in a country that falls into Tier II-VI please contact ISSTD at cfas@isst-d.org to receive the appropriate discount code.
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