Everyone forgets things once in a while, but for some people this forgetfulness can be a sign of a bigger problem. People who cannot remember important information about their life may be said to be suffering from dissociative amnesia. This can cause memory loss of specific events and themes or make the person forget a majority of their identity and history in general. This dissociative disorder can be mild or be severe enough to affect the daily functioning of a person.
Lost memories cannot be brought back with treatment but treatment can help a person suffering from this disorder reconnect with people and feel secure in their surroundings. The treatment of this condition must be customized to the person’s symptoms.
Some forms of treatment for dissociative amnesia are:
- Psychotherapy: this is also known as talk therapy as it largely involves conversations between the patient and doctor. It is the main form of therapy used to treat this condition and can also act as umbrella for many other types of therapy.
- Cognitive behavioral therapy: Cognitive therapy focuses on changing the person’s behavior. It focuses on thinking patterns and feelings that are harmful to the person self-image.
- Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing: Dissociative amnesia is often associated with traumatic events. In such cases eye movement desensitization and reprocessing is used to address symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorders such as nightmares and flashbacks.
- Dialectic behavior therapy: People who have suffered from abuse or trauma may have severe personality disturbances which may include dissociative amnesia. In such cases, dialectic behavior therapy may be used.
- Family Therapy: Dissociative amnesia is often a recurrent condition and affects not only the life of the patient but that of his or her family as well. hence therapy for the entire family is often necessary.
- Creative therapies: Cognitive therapy includes art therapy, music therapy etc. This allows patients to explore different ways of expressing their thoughts and feelings.