ABSTRACT
She was not responsive to my voice or gentle touch. Her face was pale and her body limp. Her breathing was rhythmic and shallow. Do I call the medics? I wondered, or have her mother carry her out? Luckily, she was my last client for the day so I had time to process the dilemma of how to physically end my session with this unresponsive teen. I was seeing dissociation in its most extreme form-the body shutting down in a position of “freeze,” similar to the way animals respond when a predator has caught up with them. What in my session did 17-year-old Jennifer perceive as predatory? There had been a casual conversation about college plans and a boyfriend. There had been no talk of abuse memories or frightening experiences. How did she get into this sleep-like state? I wondered, more importantly, how do I wake her up?
