Dissociation Resources
The Dissociative Experiences Scale
The DES is the first line of dissociation screening in EMDR. The DES is not diagnostic, but it is a good place to start. When doing EMDR, the DES is a part of the standard protocol. Do not skip this step. Research has shown that Clinicians often believe they can observe dissociation on their own, and yet with that in mind most clinicians typically miss it most of the time. The DES is a safeguard to this.
Adult DES:
To download the DES-II:
Scoring:
There has been a widely circulating calculator to the adult DES that includes a score for the 28 items (average), and the 8 critical items (average), as well as a prediction to dissociative taxon (.0-1). The spreadsheet was originally created by Derryl Perry. The DES also has numerous dissociation factor scales that clinicians have been encouraged to observe, but is not included on the original calculator. Therefore, Andrea Patten, LICSW has created an enhanced DES calculator, utilizing the same features of Derryl Perry’s calculator adding additional items and formatting. This is included below.
To download the calculator:
Enhanced DES Taxon Calculator April 2018 copy.xls
The original calculator can be found here: ISST-D
Instructions & information:
To download:
Adolescent DES:
The adolescent DES should always be used for adolescents, as the Adult DES has been shown to be less valid for adolescents than adults. This is why an adolescent version was created. The approximate age range for this version is ages 10 to 21.
To download the A-DES:
Adolescent Dissociative experiences scale- II.pdf
Scoring:
There has not been a calculator for the adolescent DES, until now. Andrea Patten, LICSW has created a calculator in order to automatically generate the scores for the total (average), critical items (average), and factor scores (averages). There is no Taxon score for the Adolescent DES that has been validated at this time.
To download the calculator:
Instructions & Information:
To download:
The Multidimensional Inventory of Dissociation (MID) (Dell et al, 2004)
This is a diagnostic tool that can be utilized with clients to further assess for dissociation when the DES score is suspicious or if there is clinical suspicion of dissociation. The MID is open access to clinicians. You can click on the image or the link below for any of the items to gain access to the original documents via the original MID website for your use. There is a scoring spreadsheet that requires a request submission, but does not cost you anything. The link to this request form is also included below.
Adult MID Self-Report Questionnaires:
Adolescent MID Self-Report Questionnaire:
MID Manual for Clinicians:
Please note: if you have the Mini Manual, it is now outdated.
Scoring the MID:
To score the MID, there is an excel spreadsheet, which can be requested here:
Request the Scoring Spreadsheet
A password protected link to download the scoring spreadsheet will then be sent to your email, which arrived in approximately 1 hour when I requested it.
Assessments for Dissociation include:
Please note: this list is not exhaustive. However it is inclusive of a variety of measures: measures within the public domain that any trained mental health professional may use and others which have fees and/or require use only by those authorized by licensing boards for psychological testing.
Adults:
Cambridge Depersonalization scale (CDS, Sierra et al, 2000)
Clinician Administered Dissociative States Scale (CADSS) (Bremner & Berrios, 1998)
Dissociative Disorders Interview Schedule (DSM-5 Version) DDIS (Ross et al, 1989) Structured interview version and self report version
Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES) (Carlson & Putnam, 1986)
Dissociation Questionnaire (DIS-Q) (Vanderlinden et al., 1993)
Multiscale Dissociation Inventory (MDI) (Briere et al, 2005)
Multidimensional Inventory of Dissociation (MID) (Dell et al, 2004)
Perceptual Alteration Scale (PAS) (Sanders, 1986)
Questionnaire of Experiences of Dissociation (QED) (Riley, 1988)
Somatoform Dissociation Questionnaire (SDQ-20). (Nijenhuis et al, 1996)
Structured Clinical Interview for DSM Dissociative Disorders (SCID-D) (Spitzer et al., 1990)
Child Specific:
Adolescent Dissociative Experiences Scale (A-DES) (Armstrong et al, 1997)
Adolescent Multidimensional Inventory of Dissociation (A-MID) (Dell et al, 2004)
Child Dissociative Checklist (CDC) (Putnam, 1991) (parent observation)
Child Dissociative Experience Scale and Post Traumatic Stress Inventory (CDES/PTSI) (Stolbach et al, 1986)
Structured Clinical Interview for DSM Dissociative Disorders (SCID-D) (Spitzer et al., 1990) (although not validated for adolescents, it may be used with some adolescents).
Andrea Patten highly recommends the training through
Midwest Center for Trauma and Emotional Healing
in Minnetonka, Minnesota.
Check out the training here: Adaptive Internal Resources (AIR) Network Training
The training includes:
48 Hours of Continuing Education, including 16 Hours of Continuing Education Approved by EMDRIA.
For information on the model click here: AIR Network Model Overview.
There are many dissociation trainings and books available. Dissociation has been a stigmatized and often disbelieved phenomenon, and therefore it has been often ignored in therapy training as well as research. The training above is based on new research about neurobiology that was not well understood in previous models of dissociation intervention, and takes brain development into account. It is for this reason that Andrea believes this is undoubtedly one of the top trainings on the topic at this time.
The Dissociative Experiences Scale
The DES is the first line of dissociation screening in EMDR. The DES is not diagnostic, but it is a good place to start. When doing EMDR, the DES is a part of the standard protocol. Do not skip this step. Research has shown that Clinicians often believe they can observe dissociation on their own, and yet with that in mind most clinicians typically miss it most of the time. The DES is a safeguard to this.
Adult DES:
To download the DES-II:
Scoring:
There has been a widely circulating calculator to the adult DES that includes a score for the 28 items (average), and the 8 critical items (average), as well as a prediction to dissociative taxon (.0-1). The spreadsheet was originally created by Derryl Perry. The DES also has numerous dissociation factor scales that clinicians have been encouraged to observe, but is not included on the original calculator. Therefore, Andrea Patten, LICSW has created an enhanced DES calculator, utilizing the same features of Derryl Perry’s calculator adding additional items and formatting. This is included below.
To download the calculator: Enhanced DES Taxon Calculator April 2018 copy.xls
The original calculator can be found here: ISST-D
Instructions & information:
To download:
Adolescent DES:
The adolescent DES should always be used for adolescents, as the Adult DES has been shown to be less valid for adolescents than adults. This is why an adolescent version was created. The approximate age range for this version is ages 10 to 21.
To download the A-DES:
Adolescent Dissociative experiences scale- II.pdf
Scoring:
There has not been a calculator for the adolescent DES, until now. Andrea Patten, LICSW has created a calculator in order to automatically generate the scores for the total (average), critical items (average), and factor scores (averages). There is no Taxon score for the Adolescent DES that has been validated at this time.
To download the calculator:
Instructions & Information:
To download:
The Multidimensional Inventory of Dissociation (MID) (Dell et al, 2004)
This is a diagnostic tool that can be utilized with clients to further assess for dissociation when the DES score is suspicious or if there is clinical suspicion of dissociation. The MID is open access to clinicians. You can click on the image or the link below for any of the items to gain access to the original documents via the original MID website for your use. There is a scoring spreadsheet that requires a request submission, but does not cost you anything. The link to this request form is also included below.
Adult MID Self-Report Questionnaires:
Adolescent MID Self-Report Questionnaire:
MID Manual for Clinicians:
Please note: if you have the Mini Manual, it is now outdated.
Scoring the MID:
To score the MID, there is an excel spreadsheet, which can be requested here:
Request the Scoring Spreadsheet
A password protected link to download the scoring spreadsheet will then be sent to your email, which arrived in approximately 1 hour when I requested it.
Assessments for Dissociation include:
Please note: this list is not exhaustive. However it is inclusive of a variety of measures: measures within the public domain that any trained mental health professional may use and others which have fees and/or require use only by those authorized by licensing boards for psychological testing.
Adults:
Cambridge Depersonalization scale (CDS, Sierra et al, 2000)
Clinician Administered Dissociative States Scale (CADSS) (Bremner & Berrios, 1998)
Dissociative Disorders Interview Schedule (DSM-5 Version) DDIS (Ross et al, 1989) Structured interview version and self report version
Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES) (Carlson & Putnam, 1986)
Dissociation Questionnaire (DIS-Q) (Vanderlinden et al., 1993)
Multiscale Dissociation Inventory (MDI) (Briere et al, 2005)
Multidimensional Inventory of Dissociation (MID) (Dell et al, 2004)
Perceptual Alteration Scale (PAS) (Sanders, 1986)
Questionnaire of Experiences of Dissociation (QED) (Riley, 1988)
Somatoform Dissociation Questionnaire (SDQ-20). (Nijenhuis et al, 1996)
Structured Clinical Interview for DSM Dissociative Disorders (SCID-D) (Spitzer et al., 1990)
Child Specific:
Adolescent Dissociative Experiences Scale (A-DES) (Armstrong et al, 1997)
Adolescent Multidimensional Inventory of Dissociation (A-MID) (Dell et al, 2004)
Child Dissociative Checklist (CDC) (Putnam, 1991) (parent observation)
Child Dissociative Experience Scale and Post Traumatic Stress Inventory (CDES/PTSI) (Stolbach et al, 1986)
Structured Clinical Interview for DSM Dissociative Disorders (SCID-D) (Spitzer et al., 1990) (although not validated for adolescents, it may be used with some adolescents).
Andrea Patten highly recommends the training through
Midwest Center for Trauma and Emotional Healing
in Minnetonka, Minnesota.
Check out the training here: Adaptive Internal Resources (AIR) Network Training
The training includes:
48 Hours of Continuing Education, including 16 Hours of Continuing Education Approved by EMDRIA.
For information on the model click here: AIR Network Model Overview.There are many dissociation trainings and books available. Dissociation has been a stigmatized and often disbelieved phenomenon, and therefore it has been often ignored in therapy training as well as research. The training above is based on new research about neurobiology that was not well understood in previous models of dissociation intervention, and takes brain development into account. It is for this reason that Andrea believes this is undoubtedly one of the top trainings on the topic at this time.
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