Product reviews for Understanding Dissociative Disorders

This most informative resource, backed up by neurophysiological evidence, offers immediate insight into dissociative disorders with its practical, down-to-earth approach, wisdom and humour. The large print and easy to read format makes this very clear and concise book a manual on how to proceed when the patient's presentation offers no obvious or easy path to take. 

This essential primer is must-have reading for all medical professionals looking for understanding of the complexities of dissociative patients " their idiosyncratic ways of responding to medication, inconclusive laboratory results, and a multitude of chronic physical and emotional symptoms that appear to defy diagnosis. Hunter invites us to look for inconsistencies in presentation, to be aware of counter-transference, and to find a balance between referral lab tests, prescribing and the quagmires of hypnosis, tranquillisers and anti-psychotics. She urges ways to maximise on time spent and procedures implemented, and to use diagnostic questionnaires to look beyond the medical implications of presentation for possible dissociative inclination. 

Offering realistic, practical answers to questions you hadn't thought to ask, and carefully organised for easy reference, this book discusses what you can and cannot do, where and how to ask for help, and what to say to your patient. And vitally, she explains why patients may cope and react in apparently abnormal ways to urge us all to avoid a pre- or proscriptive approach, and to treat each patient as an individual.



Hunter urges us to remember that the slower we go, the faster we get there, all the while offering easy to implement methods to facilitate those patients who are especially difficult to identify and treat because their histories offer a confusing, often contradictory scenario. She reminds us to see each patient as unique and well worth the respect and time it can take to offer an appropriate diagnosis, all the while prompting professionals to remember the benefits of taking time to care for your self as well as your patient " after all, our own emotional health is essential before we can help others. She is an advocate of ongoing education and continuous professional development, of knowing your own limits, and maximising on the benefits to all concerned of referring to appropriate professionals, usually psychotherapists.