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A Dissociative Identity Disorder is a Developmental Accomplishment: Reply to Van der Hart and Steele

Bunnik, the Netherlands

Elly Singer

University of Utrecht, E.Singer{at}FSS.UU.NL

In the theory of dissociation inspired by Janet, psychic processes are reified. The client is conceptualized as a victim-to-whom-things-happen. The development of the higher mental functions and control systems that enable people-including survivors of childhood abuse-to monitor their psychic functioning is ignored. Indeed, the Janetian trauma treatment is intended to break down the client's higher mental functions: by re-experiencing horror, automatic processes of dissociation are reinforced; the client's spontaneous compensatory system is destroyed. This can lead to the legitimizing of inhumane practices and cause iatrogenic damage. A Vygotskian therapeutic approach, together with current constructivist theories, provide an alternative. The development of the higher mental functions and `abnormal' psychological tools are crucial for by-passing the original traumatic reactions and the development of human agency.

Key Words: childhood trauma • culturally mediated learning • dissociation theory • human agency • recovered memory therapy

Theory & Psychology, Vol. 9, No. 4, 541-549 (1999)
DOI: 10.1177/0959354399094006


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