Journal of Trauma & Dissociation
March 20, 2014
Paul Frewen, Ruth A. Lanius
59 citations
A 4-D model classifies posttraumatic stress symptoms into those occurring in normal waking consciousness versus those representing dissociative altered states of consciousness. Across four dimensions—time-memory, thought, body, and emotion—the model predicts that dissociative symptoms are less frequent, less intercorrelated as momentary states, more common in people with high dissociative symptoms, and more frequent after repeated trauma, especially early developmental trauma. In a sample of 74 women with PTSD primarily from childhood trauma and 504 undergraduates, the first two predictions were supported; the third held in the PTSD sample. However, childhood trauma severity was not strongly linked to dissociative symptoms, indicating further research is needed.
Mindfulness
April 8, 2015
Paul Frewen, Nicholas M. Rogers, Les Flodrowski et al.
31 citations
An internet-based mindfulness and metta-based trauma therapy (MMTT) website was developed and tested in a proof-of-concept study with 177 online participants. Regardless of their psychiatric history or PTSD symptom severity, participants rated the website as a credible and helpful intervention for improving self-regulation and well-being and for reducing PTSD, anxiety, depression, and dissociation. Guided and non-guided meditation practices were rated as more helpful than a journaling exercise. Participants with higher PTSD symptoms showed less preference for metta (lovingkindness) meditations. The authors conclude MMTT should be piloted in clinical trials as an adjunctive treatment.
European Journal of Psychotraumatology
January 1, 2016
Daniela Rabellino, Sherain Harricharan, Paul Frewen et al.
25 citations
In individuals with the dissociative subtype of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the rubber hand illusion (RHI) provokes complex and differentiated responses, including subjective distress, depersonalization, derealization, tonic immobility, increased physiological arousal, and flashbacks. The illusion was induced after both synchronous and asynchronous brushing. These findings suggest that the RHI acts as a strong provocation stimulus, eliciting individual patterns of symptom presentation related to body misrepresentation and altered body ownership. The paradigm may be useful for studying the neurophenomenology of body distortion in trauma-related altered states of consciousness.
Journal of trauma & dissociation : the official journal of the International Society for the Study of Dissociation (ISSD)
January 1, 2022
Paul Frewen, Bethany L Brand, Hugo J Schielke et al.
Trauma-related dissociation can be understood through a 4-dimensional model that distinguishes altered states of consciousness from distress symptoms across time, thought, body, and emotions. In 111 people with trauma-related dissociative disorders receiving in-person psychotherapy plus an online psychoeducational program, intrusive memories were more common than flashbacks, and emotional numbing was more common than other forms of affect dysregulation. Negative thoughts and emotion dysregulation correlated more strongly than did voice hearing and emotional numbing. Distress symptoms were more tied to PTSD symptoms and emotion regulation difficulties, while depersonalization was more linked to dissociative self-states. Distress symptoms also reduced more than altered states during treatment. Results support distinguishing distress from dissociation, though findings varied across dimensions.
Psychological trauma : theory, research, practice and policy
November 1, 2020
Divya Mistry, Jenney Zhu, Paul Tremblay et al.
Practicing meditation with virtual reality (VR) guidance boosted positive affect and perceived satisfaction-credibility more than non-VR guided meditation, but only when the VR session came first. Negative affect during meditation was rare overall, though people with more PTSD symptoms reported greater distress in both VR and non-VR conditions. The findings suggest VR could aid meditation practice, especially for those with PTSD symptoms, but more research is needed.