Conclusion and Recommendations
To conclude, this research looked into whether there is a perceived
impact of loneliness as a trigger on the use of dissociation as a coping
mechanism in dissociative disorders (DD) population. It also aimed to
collect practitioners’ viewpoints on the most successful therapeutic
modalities for DD patients. In terms of the study’s research question,
findings point to a two-way relationship between loneliness and
dissociation. Loneliness can indeed cause DD patients to dissociate to
cope with the discomfort, and vice versa; dissociation in itself causes
patients a deep sense of loneliness and “existential emptiness” (P7).
Having a supportive network is indeed pivotal to the grounding of DD
patients, alongside their therapy processes (Saltzman et al., 2020; Wild
et al., 2020). As for recommended therapeutic techniques and modalities
as discussed with participants, trauma-based modalities are best suited
for grounding and keeping DD patients grounded (Cusack et al., 2017;
P12; P14). Cognitive therapies such as CBT, DBT, and so forth are best
for uncovering and altering patients’ negative core beliefs developed as
a result of traumas (ISSTD, 2015; Mosquera & Steele, 2017; van der Hart
et al., 2017).