Physical Grounding Ideas
Hold an ice pack - if it doesn't hurt after 20 seconds you're probably dissociated!
Cold shower
Brief intense exercise
Wasabi peas or very sour lollies
Working with Dissociation
Therapy for complex conditions including derealization, depersonalization and dissociative symptoms
Alicia Mitchell
Registered Psychologist
Alicia has a supportive and practical approach to working with dissociation, focusing initially on helping clients deal with current life stressors while learning skills to manage dissociative episodes. She utilises Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) strategies during this stage.
Once stable in their current lives, clients may then choose to continue therapy with Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) which focuses on the processing of traumas and difficult life experiences that created the dissociative symptoms.
Dissociation
Depersonalisation, Derealisation, Amnesia and Numbing
Symptoms of dissociation include depersonalization (feeling outside your body, not recognising yourself in the mirror), derealization (feeling like you're not really here, like the world isn't real), amnesia (not remembering significant events or periods from the past or forgetting chunks of time in the present) and analgesia (not experiencing pain normally, feeling numb).
Dissociation does not yet have proven effective medical treatment, but psychological therapy can teach methods to manage dissociative episodes. One of the basic tools is called "Grounding". Grounding strategies help the body and brain to return to a less stressed state and will often resolve the symptoms of depersonalisation and derealisation. They also make you more present in the here and now, and therefore safer in your environment.
Mental Grounding Ideas
Find 5 things to see, 4 things to feel, 3 things to hear, 2 things to smell and 1 thing to taste
Think of an animal starting with each letter of the alphabet
Count backwards from 100 in 7s (or 3s)
Resources
International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation
Contact
Parking available via Maclaurin Pde
Please note that steep stairs required to access premises