Establishing the common ground in European psychotraumatology

Şar, Vedat

doi:10.3402/ejpt.v6.28213

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…They also represent a striving for re-establishment of the lost unity (Şar and Öztürk, 2005). In fact, psychotraumatology is a discipline requiring dialectical thinking (Fischer and Riedesser, 1999); i.e., opposites may coexist (Şar, 2015a). To this extent, “alter” personalities in DID also constitute an attempt to bridge the gap between the detached “sociological” and “psychological” selves (Öztürk and Şar, 2016b).…”

Section: Becoming “One-self”: Overcoming the Fear Of Lonelinessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parallel-Distinct Structures of Internal World and External Reality: Disavowing and Re-Claiming the Self-Identity in the Aftermath of Trauma-Generated Dissociation

Şar

2017

Front. Psychol.

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The nature of consciousness and the autonomy of the individual's mind have been a focus of interest throughout the past century and inspired many theories and models. Revival of studies on psychological trauma and dissociation, which remained outside mainstream psychiatry, psychology, and psychoanalysis for the most part of the past century, has provided a new opportunity to revisit this intellectual and scientific endeavor. This paper attempts to integrate a series of empirical and theoretical studies on psychological consequences of developmental traumatization, which may yield further insight into factors which threaten the integrity of human consciousness. The paper proposes that an individual's experience of distorted reality and betrayal precipitates a cyclical dynamic between the individual and the external world by disrupting the developmental function of mutuality which is essential for maintenance of the integrity of the internal world while this inner world is in turn regulated vis-à-vis external reality. Dissociation -the common factor in all types of post-traumatic syndromes- is facilitated by violation of boundaries by relational omission and intrusion as represented by distinct effects and consequences of childhood neglect and abuse. Recent research conducted on clinical and non-clinical populations shows both bimodal (undermodulation and overmodulation) and bipolar (intrusion and avoidance) neurobiological and phenomenological characteristics of post-traumatic response. These seem to reflect “parallel-distinct structures” that control separate networks covering sensori-motor and cognitive-emotional systems. This understanding provides a conceptual framework to assist explanation of diverse post-traumatic mental trajectories which culminate in a common final pathway comprised of partly overlapping clinical syndromes such as complex PTSD, dissociative depression, dissociative identity disorder (DID), or “borderline” phenomena. Of crucial theoretical and clinical importance is that these maladaptive post-traumatic psychological formations are regarded as processes in their own right rather than as a personality disorder innate to the individual. Such mental division may perform in that internal detachment can serve to preserve the genuine aspects of the subject until such time as they can be reclaimed via psychotherapy. The paper attempts to integrate these ideas with reference to the previously proposed theory of the “Functional Dissociation of Self” (Şar and Öztürk, 2007).

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Section: Becoming “One-self”: Overcoming the Fear Of Lonelinessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parallel-Distinct Structures of Internal World and External Reality: Disavowing and Re-Claiming the Self-Identity in the Aftermath of Trauma-Generated Dissociation

Şar

2017

Front. Psychol.

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“…Unfortunately, political oppression and wars are not unique for the Baltic States, but they share similar history with other Central and Eastern European post-communist countries. However, taking into account the specific social context and the historical path of trauma research, we can also identify that the developments and challenges of the trauma field in the Baltic countries are in line with psychotraumatology in other European countries (Şar, 2015 ). The complicated history of the region, successful adjustment to rapid social changes, and diversity of cultures could inspire new studies that could provide new insights about resilience and expand our understanding on the role of cultural and social factors of trauma.…”

Section: Future Directions Of Trauma Research and Practice In The Balmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trauma research in the Baltic countries: from political oppression to recovery

Kazlauskas

Želvienė

2016

European Journal of Psychotraumatology

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The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of traumatic stress studies from the three Baltic countries—Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia—and reveal how specific social context contributes to the topics relevant in traumatic stress field in the region. Traumatic stress studies in the Baltic countries are closely related to the complicated history of the region. It was only since the restoration of independence of the Baltic States in the 1990s when traumatic stress studies could emerge. The start of the psychotraumatology in the Baltic States was inspired by the interest of the psychological effects of political violence. Four major topics in traumatic stress literature from the Baltic countries were identified in this article: political violence studies, epidemiology of trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), disaster studies, and developmental aspects of trauma. Traumatic events prevalence was reported between 70 and 75%, and PTSD prevalence range 2–7% in the Baltic countries. The interest in psychotraumatology in the Baltic countries is rising.

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Childhood Trauma and Dissociative Disorders

Şar

2020

Childhood Trauma in Mental Disorders

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Establishing the common ground in European psychotraumatology

Cited by 5 publications

References 33 publications

Parallel-Distinct Structures of Internal World and External Reality: Disavowing and Re-Claiming the Self-Identity in the Aftermath of Trauma-Generated Dissociation

Parallel-Distinct Structures of Internal World and External Reality: Disavowing and Re-Claiming the Self-Identity in the Aftermath of Trauma-Generated Dissociation

Trauma research in the Baltic countries: from political oppression to recovery

Childhood Trauma and Dissociative Disorders

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