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Mental Health Disorders

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Depersonalisation Disorder

Depersonalisation disorder is a mental health disorder characterised by a profound sense of being disconnected or detached from ones own body.

Sufferers often report that they feel as though they are observing themselves from outside of their own body or that they can hear themselves speak without conscously being in control of what is being said.

In common with other dissociative disorders, depersonalisation disorders are commonly associated with childhood abuse or trauma and represent a kind of psychological splitting-off from the intolerable memories.

It is relatively rare within a population and is only diagnosed when it causes serious impairments to social functioning.

As is the case with other mental health disorders, depersonalisation disorder has been categorised as being due to faulty underlying neurobiology however, despite many years of research, no conclusive evidence for biological malfunction has yet been identified.

Man with Depersonalisation Disorder standing in the rain

Depersonalisation Disorder Symptoms

The main symptoms associated with Depersonalisation Disorder are:

A subjective experience of unreality.
Detachment from one’s surroundings.
Detachment from one’s own thoughts.
Difficulty concentrating.
Difficulty remembering things.
Recalling memories with the emotional content missing.

Although many people will experience some of these symptoms at some point in their lives, depersonalisation disorder sufferers tend to suffer these much more frequently, with greater intensity and over longer periods of time.

Depersonalisation Disorder diagnosis banner

Diagnosis of Depersonalisation Disorder

Technically, only a psychiatrist can diagnose a Depersonalisation disorder, but in the UK general practitioners have tended to diagnose mental health problems by using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).

The DSM lists specific symptoms against a range of disorders and whenever a person meets this criteria, they are said to be suffering from that disorder.

Diagnostic procedures do NOT make use of medical testing (for example blood tests) in order to produce a diagnosis, but rather is an opinion based on the observation of certain behaviours in the person who is suffering.

Because of this lack of verifiable medical testing, diagnosis remains a controversial subject, particularly within the psychological community.

However, in the UK access to support services is often contingent on receiving a diagnosis, so in this sense, a formal diagnosis may be useful.

Getting a Mental Health Diagnosis

Please be aware that Tranceform Psychology do not diagnose mental health disorders.

Our psychological counselling services do not require you to have been formally diagnosed but should you wish to obtain a formal mental health diagnosis, then please contact your GP who can arrange it for you.

CBT for Depersonalisation Disorder

If you’re committed to overcoming your Depersonalisation Disorder then we highly recommend following our Tranceformental CBT 10 session programme.

The Tranceformental programme is a highly successful & pragmatic psychotherapy course, run over 10 sessions, that will teach you everything you need to know to understand your problem.

It can also help you to identify how any unhelpful thinking and limiting beliefs might be reinforcing the issue, and then show you how to make any changes to your unhelpful thinking styles or maladaptive safety behaviours that you may have developed as part of your coping strategies.

The programme is also available as an online self-help CBT programme.

Our Tranceformental CBT programme is an empirically supported approach used by mental health practitioners around the World.

Free Initial Consultations for Depersonalisation Disorder

We offer all prospective clients a FREE initial consultation to discuss your Depersonalisation Disorder prior to commencing any treatment plans.

The consultation is free and lasts around 50 minutes.

During this consultation we will discuss the various therapy options that are available to you and make a considered recommendation based on your individual personal circumstances.

Initial consultations are also available as part of our online therapy service.

At Tranceform Psychology we recognise the importance of the therapeutic relationship in helping people to bring about effective change, so its important to be able to ‘meet’ to discuss any therapy treatments BEFORE proceeding.

Our policy is to help people make a fully balanced & considered decision about undertaking work with us, including both the financial and personal implications.

Tranceformental CBT course for Depersonalisation Disorder on a PC screen

Overcome Depersonalisation Disorder with our online CBT Course

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is clinically proven to be effective.

Using an online learning platform, it is available with 2, 5 or 10 sessions of clinical support either face-to-face in the Wombourne offices, or using Zoom video facilities.

It can also be taken as a self help CBT course that will teach you the fundamental tools and techniques used throughout the mental health profession.