ABSTRACT
Dissociation is one mechanism that is used by the ego as a way to maintain its integrity for survival, and is a response to severe trauma (Gabbard, 1994). Research suggests that childhood physical abuse may be an antecedent to the development of combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Bremner, Southwick, Johnson, Yehuda, & Charney, 1993).When doing group therapy with a veteran who is known to dissociate it can present a number of challenges for the group therapist. In particular, it is important for the therapist to be able to hold the patient’s unbearable mental states of mind in mind for the patient (Hinshelwood, 1994). Having worked with war veterans for eight years, a case will be presented as a descriptor of the dissociatve experience.
