Dissociation Therapy in Austin, TX
Understanding experiences that can be difficult to put into words.
Dissociation can take many forms. You might feel disconnected from your emotions, your body, or the world around you. You may notice gaps in your memory, experience shifts in how you understand yourself, or feel as though different aspects of your experience aren't always connected.
For some people, these experiences are subtle and difficult to recognize. For others, dissociation may be a familiar part of everyday life, including experiences associated with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) or Other Specified Dissociative Disorder (OSDD).
Dissociation often develops as a way of navigating experiences that feel overwhelming or difficult to manage. What may seem confusing or disruptive in the present can sometimes be understood in the context of how you've learned to protect yourself.
In therapy, we can begin by exploring your experiences with curiosity rather than judgment. Whether you're just beginning to recognize dissociation or have understood your experiences for years, we'll work together to develop a deeper understanding of what's happening and what you might need.
What Is Dissociation?
Dissociation involves a disruption or disconnection in how we experience our thoughts, emotions, memories, sense of self, or surroundings. It can look different from person to person, and it isn't always easy to recognize.
You might experience:
Feeling disconnected from yourself: Feeling emotionally numb, distant from your body, or as though you're observing yourself from the outside.
Feeling disconnected from your surroundings: Experiencing the world as unreal, dreamlike, or somehow unfamiliar, even when you know where you are.
Gaps in memory: Having difficulty recalling conversations, events, or periods of time beyond ordinary forgetfulness.
Changes in your sense of self: Noticing shifts in how you experience yourself, your preferences, emotions, or ways of relating to others.
Difficulty accessing emotions or experiences: Knowing something happened but feeling disconnected from the emotions associated with it, or noticing that certain feelings or memories seem accessible at some times but not others.
Dissociation exists along a spectrum. All people experience occasional forms of disconnection, particularly during stress, exhaustion, or overwhelming situations. For others, dissociative experiences are more frequent, complex, or disruptive to everyday life.
Dissociation isn't always obvious from the outside. Someone may appear to be functioning well while privately experiencing significant disconnection, confusion, or difficulty making sense of their experiences.
Understanding dissociation begins with noticing how it shows up for you, what circumstances seem connected to it, and what role it may have played in navigating your experiences.
Understanding DID and OSDD
For some people, dissociation involves more than occasional disconnection. It may include differences in memory, awareness, identity, and how different aspects of the self experience and respond to the world.
Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) and Other Specified Dissociative Disorder (OSDD) can involve distinct identity states or experiences of self that aren't always fully connected or accessible to one another.
Someone may notice differences in how they think, feel, remember, or relate to others at different times. They might experience internal conversations, conflicting needs or perspectives, gaps in memory, or a sense that different aspects of themselves have different experiences and responsibilities.
These experiences aren't necessarily visible to other people. Many individuals with DID or OSDD have spent years navigating their internal experiences without others recognizing what's happening.
Although DID and OSDD share some features, they aren't identical diagnoses. The nature of identity experiences, memory differences, and other dissociative symptoms can vary considerably from person to person.
In therapy, I don't assume that everyone experiences their internal world in the same way or that there's one correct way to describe it. We can use language that feels meaningful to you while developing a shared understanding of your experiences.
The focus isn't on making your experiences fit a particular description. It's on understanding how your internal experiences affect your life, relationships, and sense of self, and what might help you navigate them with greater awareness, communication, and choice.
Why Dissociation Develops
Dissociation is part of the human capacity to manage attention, awareness, and overwhelming experiences. Sometimes it allows us to temporarily disconnect from what's happening around us or within ourselves.
When someone experiences ongoing stress, trauma, or circumstances that feel impossible to escape, dissociation may become an important way of navigating those experiences.
For children growing up in unpredictable, frightening, or emotionally overwhelming environments, dissociation can provide a way to manage experiences they don't yet have the resources or support to process. Different feelings, memories, needs, or ways of responding may become separated from one another as part of adapting to those circumstances.
Over time, these patterns can continue even when the original circumstances have changed. Someone may experience disconnection, shifts in awareness, or differences in access to memories and emotions without understanding why they're happening.
Rather than viewing these experiences simply as problems to eliminate, we can become curious about how they developed and what purposes they serve.
Understanding these protective responses can create opportunities for greater awareness, internal communication, and choice, while respecting the ways you've learned to navigate your experiences.
What Dissociation Therapy With Me Can Look Like
Therapy for dissociation begins with understanding your experiences and how they affect your life. Whether you're experiencing occasional disconnection or navigating the complexities of DID or OSDD, our work will be shaped by your individual needs, experiences, and goals.
We might begin by exploring when dissociation happens, what you notice before or afterward, and how different aspects of your experience relate to one another. Sometimes this involves recognizing patterns that have been present for years but haven't always been easy to understand or describe.
For people who experience distinct identity states, therapy may include developing greater awareness, communication, and cooperation within the system. Different identity states may have their own perspectives, needs, concerns, and ways of protecting you. We can approach these differences with curiosity and respect rather than assuming that everyone needs or wants the same things.
We'll also pay attention to the strengths and resources that already exist within you. Sometimes these are easier to recognize in certain situations or identity states than in others. Exploring how those capacities might become more accessible can be an important part of our work.
My approach draws from parts work, Coherence Therapy, somatic awareness, and dissociation-informed EMDR when appropriate. These approaches allow us to explore protective patterns, emotional learning, and internal conflicts while adapting the process to your needs.
Throughout our work, we'll continue paying attention to what you're noticing, what different aspects of your experience may need, and what possibilities emerge as understanding and communication develop.
Let's Talk
If you're experiencing dissociation, navigating life with DID or OSDD, or beginning to recognize experiences you haven't quite known how to describe, you're welcome to reach out.
You don't need to have a diagnosis or a clear understanding of everything you're experiencing before starting therapy. We can begin with what you know about yourself and explore the rest together.
I offer dissociation therapy in person in Austin, Texas, and online throughout Texas.
You're welcome to schedule a free consultation to see whether working together feels like a good fit.