Question

compare and contrast dissociative amnesia with identify disorder. Be sure to describe how the comprehensive assessment process would enable the examiner to differentiate between the two conditions

Answer 1

DISSOCIATIVE AMNESIA AND IDENTIFY DISORDER

The main similarity between both are they fall into same family of dissociative disorders.Dissociative disorders are conditions that involves breakdowns of memory,perception, awareness,identity.People with dissociative disorders use dissociation as a defense mechanism.

DISSOCIATIVE AMNESIA

• Inability to recall important personal information,usually of a traumatic or stressful situation, which is too extensive to compare with normal forgetfullness.
• This disturbance may be based on changes happened in the brain during stressful situation.
• Types of:localised,selective amnesia,generalized amnesia,continous amnesia,systematized amnesia.
• Factors which leads to condition with trauma :human assult,longer duration trauma,fear ofdeath,bond between perpertrator and victim,violence in trauma etc.
• MAJOR CLINICAL PRESENTATION(EXAMINER SHOULD ASSESS FOR THESE

1. Overt,florid ,dramatic clinical disturbance that frequently leads to quick medical attention with symptoms of dissociative disorders.
2. Patient may present intercurrent somatoform or conversion symptoms,alternations in consciousness,depersonalization,derealization,trance state,spontanous age regression.
3. Depression and suicidal ideas
4. OTHER SYMPTOMS LIKE depression,mood swings,substance abuse,sleep disturbance,somatoform disturbance,anxiety and panic,violence outbursts,

• Treatment:cognitive therapy,hypnosis,somatic therapy,group psychotherapy.

IDENTITY DISORDER(multiple personality disorder)

• DID involves a identify disorder in which more than 2 seperate and disticnt personality states control the individual's behavior.
• A person who is under control of one identity os usually unable to remember some other events which occured when other personality were in control.
• The different identity may exhibits differences in speech,mannerism,attitudes,thoughts,and gender orientation etc
• May also exhibit in 'physical' properties such as allergies,right or left handedness etc.
• MAJOR CLINICAL PRESENTATION

1. Feeling like more than one person
2. Being called names that are unlike their names
3. Havingmemory lapse that indicate dissociative.
4. Hearing voices, other than their own inside the head
5. Feeling unreal
6. Feeling like they are watching trhemselves move through life rather than living own life.

• TREATMENT :Psychotherapy with hypnosis ,drud therapy,mutual self support groups

The difference should me made by MENTAL STATUS ASSESEMENT were the demenesia patient demonstrates memory loss and self harming with moodswings which can be altred with treatment and shifting to less traumatic situations to an extent.However for idetify disorder it is difficult ti identify the condition becuase they live normal life in socitiey and interact normaly other than the switching time.A long time assessement and close observation is needed to find thedisease in starting stage or fuether.