The Attitudes and Beliefs Concerning Dissociation (ABCD) study aims to understand opinions about the mental health presentation of “dissociation” with Year 10 and 11 students, UK undergraduates and mental health clinicians from participating NHS Trusts.
Dissociation is a broad term describing a range of upsetting experiences of ‘strangeness’, unreality, unfamiliarity, or disconnection. For example, people with dissociative difficulties may describe feeling as though they are ‘trapped in a bubble’ and far away from the world around them, or as though their own memories are unfamiliar to them. These experiences exist at a low level in people without significant mental health concerns, but for some they can become extreme, chronic, and distressing. Such dissociative disorders are as common as OCD but are far less well-known.
Dissociation is becoming a hot topic and is increasingly being discussed online and on social media by young people. In contrast, NHS clinicians typically do not receive substantial training about dissociation and may not be aware of the level of information and misinformation that exists in young people’s virtual environments. We are interested in improving the conversations between young people and NHS professionals when young people present to services seeking help for dissociative difficulties. The aim of the ABCD study is to understand what young people (Years 10 and 11, and undergraduates) already know and believe about this important mental health topic, and to compare this against NHS clinicians’ understanding. We will create practical information resources and clinical guides from our findings.
The key tasks are:
For further information email dissociation@contacts.bham.ac.uk
If you are a clinician or practitioner and would like to find out more about the research, email dissociation@contacts.bham.ac.uk
Participating Trusts (currently) include:
Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology
Dr Emma Černis is a clinical psychologist with expertise in complex mental health difficulties. Her research focuses on understanding dissociative experiences from a cognitive-behavioural perspective.
