Interview with Joyanna L. Silberg, reference in Childhood Trauma and Dissociation

It is a pleasure to soon have Joyanna L. in Spain. Silberg, international reference in psychological intervention in trauma with children and adolescents. From October 26 to 28 in Pamplona, ​​we will be able to learn from her about childhood dissociation. In this interview with Joyanna we will solve some frequent doubts related to this psychological phenomenon.

• Related article: "The 6 stages of childhood (physical and mental development)"

Joyanna L. Silberg, on the process of childhood dissociation

For many child therapists the issue of childhood dissociation is still a great unknown. It is true that we can hear about dissociation in adults, but it is difficult to find literature on it in the world of children.

We understand that we cannot transfer the same concept from the adult world to the brain of boys and girls, since a characteristic of childhood is the lack of integration of experiences, which is facilitated by the adults who accompany the child, to the extent that they mentalize the child's states and put words. And this is precisely what does not happen in traumatic environments or families involved in constant suffering and disintegration.

You don't see the child's pain and you don't know how to calm down; this prolonged discomfort must be digested by the child himself, who does not have the maturational capacity for it. Therefore, it is good to understand the basic mechanisms of childhood dissociation, a topic that we address below with Joyanna L. Silberg.

Jonathan Garcia-Allen: What can precipitate a state of dissociation in a child?

Joyanna: Children who are in extreme terror and have no one to help them calm down the overwhelming state of trauma can go into a state of dissociation.

Jonathan García-Allen: What relationship could there be between the child's type of attachment and dissociation?

If a child does not have a parent who is consistent in promoting healthy attachment, that child is more likely to deal with dissociation. children with disorganized attachment, who live with situations in which they are unable to predict how their parents will react before them, are the most predisposed to develop dissociation to adapt to that uncertainty.

Jonathan Garcia-Allen: What are the differences between dissociation in children and dissociation in adults?

When adults use dissociation to cope with a traumatic situation, it is the result of a form of coping defense learned over a lifetime that becomes solid and difficult to interrupt.

Children are growing and their minds are developing, so when you help them deal with the discomfort of a situation, by staying connected to them and by facilitating a state of presence, they can learn to cope without disassociate It is easier for them to learn or relearn and the treatment is faster.

Jonathan García-Allen: Is there a population profile that presents a greater tendency to dissociative states?

It seems that children who are more prone to fantasy, who are easily involved in fantasy and are absorbed by its own imagination, are the most susceptible to developing them, since they use the escape to the mind in a natural way to they.

Jonathan García-Allen: There are different treatments to work with childhood dissociation. What therapies have better results?

Children must learn that the healthiest way to achieve an integrated state of mind is to be able to achieve a "whole me" in which the different states they are part of the same me and they work together. They learn this to the extent that they are helped to respect all their feelings and all their states. Children connect with these ideas easily and have an inner drive toward healing.

Disrupting dissociative pathways in children can prevent the terrible morbidity of dissociative disorders in adults. Working with dissociative children gives therapists a window into the amazing mind of children, and brings a feeling of great respect for the way in which the little ones learn to survive in the face of all obstacles.

To know more

Joyanna L. Silberg will give a workshop on child dissociation intervention in Spain, from October 26 to 28 in Pamplona. This course, organized by the Vitaliza psychology office, will have a Spanish translation and can be done online thanks to its streaming broadcast.

• To know the complete program, you can access the contact information of Vitaliza, and its website, from the tab from this link.