Please be advised we are pausing our referrals for the month of January 2025 whilst we complete an annual process review. You are welcome to send in any new referrals as normal to enquiries@clinicds.com, but we will not process them until February 2025.
Thank you for your patience and understanding.
One of the CDS trustees Julia Beker has had her work published in Clinical Psychology Review, which is available for open access (link at the bottom of this post). Co-written with Martin Dorahy, Jaimee Moir, and Jacinta Cording, it explores their systematically reviewed and meta-analytically assessed empirical research investigating inter-identity amnesia in dissociative identity disorder. They hope to bring a nuanced lens to this important and understudied phenomenon. Julia adds:
“Individuals who experience dissociative identity disorder often report a degree of amnesia between different identities. That is, while one identity has encoded, and has access to, particular memories or information, in another identity this may feel completely inaccessible. Recently, research on this phenomenon of ‘inter-identity amnesia’ has accrued. This paper collates such research systematically and meta-analytically to try and better understand the nature and extent of inter-identity amnesia in DID. Overall, we find disparate results, unclear conclusions, and some methodological considerations suggesting that we are still at the beginning stages of our understanding. The paper urges a nuanced lens into empirically assessing and conceptualising memory processes in DID.”
You can find the paper here: https://lnkd.in/eX9RJhVy
CDS UK Consultant Psychotherapist Nancy Borrett and Clinical Director Emma Jack have now completed their four-day training with senior mental health clinicians from Somerset NHS Foundation Trust. It was a real privilege to share knowledge, experience and ideas with the aim of improving mental health provision for people with DID and other dissociative disorders.
The training was underpinned by some fundamental principles such as compassion, collaboration and maximising on clients’ felt sense of safety within services. They explored ways of working with different dissociative identities, assessing risks and the management of complex safeguarding dilemmas. The input from a former CDS patient with lived experience of DID was a powerful contribution to the training and hugely appreciated by everyone.
Nancy and Emma really enjoyed having time to think together and reflect on this incredibly rewarding and often challenging area of work. The clinicians in Somerset were very enthusiastic and engaged, with some fantastic ideas.
CDS UK hope to continue to offer training to NHS trusts all over the UK to support the nationwide development of dissociation and DID-informed practice.
CDS UK Consultant Psychotherapist Nancy Borrett and Clinical Director Emma Jack are delivering a four-day training to senior mental health practitioners from Somerset NHS Foundation Trust.
The first day was about understanding dissociation and DID and was presented to around 65 professionals from various disciplines, including Psychology, Psychiatry, Nursing, various therapy modalities and some representatives from Social Work.
The following 3 days will focus more on clinical aspects of the work with around 35 senior clinicians attending from all over the county. They will present material on understanding the complexities and challenges of working with DID, how assessment and risk management can be different with multiplicity, and ideas for working with people effectively and ethically within Somerset’s current service limitations. A former CDS UK patient will be joining them for one of the days to talk about their life as a person with DID, their therapy journey and a Q and A session.
Nancy and Emma have had excellent feedback so far and are hoping to deliver this kind of training nationally, in order to develop awareness and understanding.
In October 2024, Mark Linington (CEO), Emma Jack (Clinical Director) and Matt Bordonada (Deputy Clinical Director) attended the ESTD (European Society for Trauma & Dissociation) 9th congress in Katowice, Poland, entitled ‘From Diagnosis to Treatment: Recognising Complex Trauma and Dissociation’. In addition, CDS UK Associate Therapists Sally Urquhart, Denise Stowe, and Amanda Wells were also present at the congress.
Before the congress, all of the above CDS UK staff and associates visited the Memorial and Museum at Auschwitz-Birkenau, visiting both the prison and workcamp site. All in attendance agreed this was a very moving experience.
There were many excellent speakers and presentations, including by Bethany Brand who spoke about her TopDD research and the findings of a clinical trial of the ‘Finding Solid Ground’ programme that has come as a result of this research, which CDS UK would like to consider utilising in future for some patients.
The 10th ESTD congress will be held in October 2026 in Lisbon, Portugal. CDS UK intend to present at this congress, and we would be open to joint delivery of presentations with our Associate Therapists.
CDS UK (Clinic for Dissociative Studies) remains open and our therapists and therapeutic teams continue to support their patients. In most most cases this will be online or on the phone. We are following all NHS and Government guidelines with regard to safer working.
We recognise that everyone is under more strain at this very difficult time. We know that this current situation will be having a significant impact on people’s mental health as well as potentially their physical health. We aim at CDS UK to continue to offer our support to people throughout this time.
We will continue to be available for contact with professionals and potential patients wishing to discuss possible referrals and we will continue to support funding requests to Clinical Commissioning Groups.
When funding for assessments is agreed, our clinical management team will consider whether we can offer an assessment on a case by case basis.In most instances we will have to delay assessments until the COVID-19 restrictions are relaxed. Online assessments will be considered, where appropriate safety measures can be put in place.
We are still accepting applications (via a CV and covering letter) for those professionals wishing to register to work with us.
Our accounts team may take a little longer to respond to queries. Calls to the clinic will still be answered. However, we may be able to respond more quickly to queries by e-mail at info@clinicds.com.
Referrals – Please send through all referrals via email to info@clinicds.com as our staff are currently working from home and the post will be checked less frequently than normal.
5th March 2020 | 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Centre for Child Mental Health, Islington, London
Click here for further details and booking.
Congratulations from all of us to Dr Valerie Sinason, CDS UK Founder and Former Director, who has just been made a fellow of the ISSTD – March 2018 – to add to her Lifetime Achievement Award of 2016. Fitting recognition to her lasting contribution to the field of complex trauma and dissociation.
on the award of her New Year’s honour for services to people with dissociative disorders. An excellent recognition of the hard work of survivor-led organisations for people with dissociative disorders – Well done Kathryn!
