Somatoform symptoms and disorders from the perspective of the AIP model

Somatoform disorders, which feature medically unexplained somatic symptoms, are often enigmatic to healing professionals. The presenter will tell the story of a man suffering Illness Anxiety Disorder and a spontaneous, dramatic onset of Conversion Disorder to illustrate the AIP view and EMDR treatment of these disorders. Three targeting strategies for somatoform symptoms will be described. The presenter will also address more complex cases through the additional lens of Theory of Structural Dissociation of the Personality (TSDP). While DSM-5 nosology identifies only positive somatoform symptoms, TSDP identifies both positive and negative symptoms, and this helps clinicians begin to see the dissociative nature of these disorders. The speaker will show how the inherent compatibility of AIP and TSDP opens a path toward the integration of EMDR therapy in the treatment of both simple and complex somatoform disorders.

Conference

English

George Abbott

Abbott, G. (2015, March). Somatoform symptoms and disorders from the perspective of the AIP model. Presentation at the 11th Western Mass Regional Network Spring Conference, Amherst, MA