trauma and dissociation video and DID book

YouTube - Trauma and Dissociation in Children - ISSTD's YouTube podcast featuring our Understanding Dissociation video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Le41jA8FA4s


Why, Mommy, Why? – Dissociative Identity Disorder by Jody Thomas - The book is for the general public and professionals in the psychology field. Jody Thomas’ autobiography is the story of a joyful recovery from severe childhood abuse. What sets this account apart is the author’s unique exploration of the extreme defenses we are capable of developing to survive severe trauma and how, later, these same defenses begin to work against us. It is about her difficult journey through frequent hospitalizations, suicide attempts, disability, cognitive therapy and harrowing childhood memories. Jody’s account gives readers a rare glimpse into the therapeutic process from the patient’s perspective. Cognitive Therapy, Psychodynamic Therapy, Art Therapy and Psychodrama help Jody overcome decades of abuse and the even more powerful psychological messages that accompanied it. Publisher: Green Effect Media – the publishing arm of ttdesigns Also available as an e-book. It can be purchased directly from the publisher online at: http://www.WhyMommyDID.com or by calling (630) 201-3504.

Uncovered LSD Project at CIA, new diagnosis for DSM

describes crimes
John K. Vance; Uncovered LSD Project at CIA By Joe Holley Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, June 16, 2005; Page B08 John K. Vance, 89, a member of the Central Intelligence Agency inspector general's staff in the early 1960s who discovered that the agency was running a research project that included administering LSD and other drugs to unwitting human subjects, died....Code-named MKULTRA (and pronounced m-k-ultra), the project Mr. Vance uncovered was the brainchild of CIA Director Allen Dulles, who was intrigued by reports of mind-control techniques allegedly conducted by Soviet, Chinese and North Korean agents on U.S. prisoners of war during the Korean War.

The CIA wanted to use similar techniques on its own POWs and perhaps use LSD or other mind-bending substances on foreign leaders, including Cuba's Fidel Castro a few years after the project got underway in 1953. Heading MKULTRA was a CIA chemist named Sidney Gottlieb. In congressional testimony, Gottlieb, who died in 1999, acknowledged that the agency had administered LSD to as many as 40 unwitting subjects, including prison inmates and patrons of brothels set up and run by the agency. At least one participant died when he jumped out of a 10th-floor window in a hotel; others claimed to have suffered serious psychological damage. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/15/AR2005061502685.html


The Trauma Center at JRI - A Joint Task Force of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN), the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS), and the International Society for the Study and Treatment of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD) Led by Bessel van der Kolk, M.D. have proposed a new diagnostic condition for inclusion in the DSM-V that addresses the complexity of adaptation to survive child maltreatment and neglect. Provided here for review, dissemination, and policy initiatives are two documents. http://www.traumacenter.org/announcements/DTD_papers.php

Vatican and clergy abuse, trauma and dissociation

from http://ritualabuse.us

Vatican can be sued for clergy abuse, judges rule - An Oregon man who alleges he was molested in the 1960s by a priest can pursue a civil lawsuit against the Holy See, a federal appeals court says.
By Manya A. Brachear March 5, 2009 Reporting from Chicago -- A federal appeals court ruling has brought an Oregon man one step closer to suing the Vatican for sexual abuse he says he suffered by a Roman Catholic priest. In a 59-page decision issued Tuesday, a three-judge panel from the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the man -- who says he was molested in the 1960s by a priest at a Catholic school -- can pursue a civil lawsuit against the Holy See because the priest allegedly abused him while serving in a religious capacity.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-sue-the-vatican5-2009mar05,0,2880227.story



Trauma Articles - This page includes selected full-text articles about trauma -- versions of preprints, published articles, or chapters. Several other resources relevant to trauma, disasters, psychology, and neuroscience are available on the Resources Page, as well as the Links page.
http://www.trauma-pages.com/articles.php


The Body Keeps The Score: Memory & the Evolving Psychobiology of Post Traumatic Stress
by Bessel van der Kolk first published in the Harvard Review of Psychiatry, 1994, 1(5), 253-265.
http://www.trauma-pages.com/a/vanderk4.php

Dissociation & the Fragmentary Nature of Traumatic Memories: Overview & Exploratory Study
Bessel A. van der Kolk & Rita Fisler This is a version of their article published in the Journal of Traumatic Stress, 1995, 8(4), 505-525. Since trauma is an inescapably stressful event that overwhelms people's coping mechanisms it is uncertain to what degree the results of laboratory studies of ordinary events have relevance to the understanding of traumatic memories. This paper first reviews the literature on the differences between recollections of stressful and of traumatic events. It then reviews the evidence implicating dissociative processes as the central pathogenic mechanisms that give rise to PTSD. We present the results of a systematic exploratory study of 46 subjects with PTSD which indicates that traumatic memories are retrieved, at least initially, in the form of dissociated mental imprints of sensory and affective elements of the traumatic experience: as visual, olfactory, affective, auditory and kinesthetic experiences. Over time, subjects reported the gradual emergence of a personal narrative that can be properly referred to as "explicit memory". The implications of these findings for understanding the nature of traumatic me mories is discussed. http://www.trauma-pages.com/a/vanderk2.php

Childhood trauma has life-long effect on genes and the brain

Childhood trauma has life-long effect on genes and the brain

from http://ritualabuse.us

Childhood trauma has life-long effect on genes and the brain 2/22/09 - McGill Newsroom - Study confirms effects of early environment in brains of suicide victims - McGill University and Douglas Institute scientists have discovered that childhood trauma can actually alter your DNA and shape the way your genes work. This confirms in humans earlier findings in rats, that maternal care plays a significant role in influencing the genes that control our stress response. Using a sample of 36 brains; 12 suicide victims who were abused; 12 suicide victims who were not abused and 12 controls, the researchers discovered different epigenetic markings in the brains of the abused group. These markings influence the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) function, a stress-response which increases the risk of suicide. This research builds upon findings published last May that showed how child abuse can leave epigenetic marks on DNA.....The all-McGill study is set to be published in the February 22, issue of the journal Nature Neuroscience."We know from clinical experience that a difficult childhood can have an impact on the course of a person's life", said Dr. Turecki. "Now we are starting to understand the biological implications of such psychological abuse," added Dr. Szyf. "The function of our DNA is not as fixed as previously believed, said Dr. Meaney. "The interaction between the environment and the DNA plays a crucial role in determining our resistance to stress thus the risk for suicide. Epigenetic marks are the product of this interaction."
http://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/news/item/?item_id=104667