Karen Woodall – Psychotherapist, Writer, Researcher, Trainer

One response to “Coercive Control of Children in Divorce and Separation – Understanding the Child Who Aligns and Rejects”

1. Bob Rijs

   May 15, 2023 at 3:47 pm

   Protection, Dissociation, and Internal Roles: Modeling and Treating the Effects of Child Abuse – Peter M. Thomas (2003)

   Dissociation and Protection

   Child abuse is also associated with disorders of dissociation in later life (Briere, 1992). Dissociation refers to a complex and fascinating range of phenomena, not well understood, that involve alterations in the normal integration of consciousness and a reduction in or redirection of ordinary awareness (Lynn & Rhue, 1994; Michelson & Ray, 1996). Dissociative phenomena include mild, everyday events such as confusion, memory lapses, and blank spells; more pronounced conditions such as shock and hypnotic trance; and extraordinary disturbances such as fugue states and alter personalities.

   Many investigators consider dissociation, at least in its more extreme forms, to be a psychological defense mechanism protecting individuals from overwhelming experiences (Carden˜a, 1994). Incest victims, for example, frequently report that they left their bodies and felt no sensation while they were sexually abused (van der Kolk et al., 1996). As noted earlier, researchers have found that most abused infants demonstrate disorganized attachment behaviors that may be prototypes of dissociative states.

   Some forms of dissociation, therefore, appear to be responses to threat when ordinary sources of protection are unavailable.

   In terms of the present model, abuse survivors may dissociate when their internal models of attachment are activated in alarming situations. Lacking an adequate inner protector, they feel unable to defend themselves, and dissociation allows them to avoid painful and overwhelming feelings. Interpersonal situations (boundary challenges, conflicts, or attacks) or internal events (inner critic assaults) can act as triggers. Unfortunately, dissociation leaves individuals even more vulnerable to harm. This fact, rather than the classic idea of a compulsion to repeat the trauma (Freud, 1920/1961; van der Kolk, 1989), may explain why many abuse survivors continue to be victimized. Consider the following account:

   When Jodie told her college boyfriend that she had been raped by his best friend, he was quiet for a long time. When she got up to leave, he told her she should spend the night in his room, that he wouldn’t touch her.

   “During the night, I woke up to find him on top of me. At first I thought [the rapist] was back and I panicked. My boyfriend said that he was just trying to get me ‘used to things’ again, so that I wouldn’t be frigid for the rest of my life. I was too drained to fight or argue, so I let him. My mind was completely blank during it. I felt nothing [italics added].

   “The next day I took my last exam, packed up my things, and left. I broke up with my boyfriend over the summer.” (Warshaw, 1988, p. 76) Jodie’s description of her inner state in response to her boyfriend’s violation is a typical description of dissociation. The narrative suggests that her dissociation and her failure to defend herself were linked (“I was too drained to fight”).

   The current perspective, incidentally, suggests a connection between dissociation and depression. Trauma survivors become depressed when they lack protection against inner critic attacks, but this condition also triggers dissociation. Depression is often accompanied by cognitive impairments, such as difficulty thinking or concentrating (American Psychiatric Association, 2000) and memory difficulties (Burt, Zembar, & Niederehe, 1995). Could these impairments indicate a dissociative response to ongoing inner criticism?

   An Internal Role System Theory of Abuse

   The present model can be summarized as follows.

   1. Children form internal representations of three dynamically related roles—child, protector, and aggressor—based on their early experiences of caregiver protection.

   2. These role representations are activated in situations of perceived threat, including conflict, personal boundary violations, and direct assault. When activated, they organize emotion, thought, and behavior.

   3. Role representations are relatively self-conserving but can be modified by significant experiences, including psychotherapy.

   4. Children who receive reliable caregiver protection form role representations of an effective protector, a secure child, and a contained aggressor. Abused children, on the other hand, form representations of an inadequate protector, an endangered child, and an uncontrolled aggressor.

   5. Abuse survivors who subsequently experience protection are more likely to reform their internal models than survivors who do not have corrective experiences.

   6. Without corrective experiences, abuse survivors are at risk for a large number of psychosocial problems. These problems reflect the activation of their internal attachment representations in response to threat.

   7. Without corrective experiences, abuse survivors are likely to dissociate when their internal models are activated. Dissociation in dangerous situations can lead to further victimization and thereby confirm maladaptive models through a positive feedback loop.

   https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232547481_Protection_Dissociation_and_Internal_Roles_Modeling_and_Treating_the_Effects_of_Child_Abuse

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