# Appreciate any insight, thoughts, or ideas you might have...



## msw_me (May 8, 2010)

Hello everyone! This is my first post here and I truly hope that it is ok for me to post in this thread.

I am counselor working with a 13-year old female client who I think is describing symptoms for both depersonalization and derealization. I have about 4 more sessions with her before the school year ends (I've been seeing her for about 2 months) and would like to be able to help her as much as I can - connect her to other services etc. One of the biggest problems I'm having is that my client describes being happy where she is - I think it may be difficult for her to even possibly hope that things could be different for her. So here's question one:
- How best to motivate an adolescent that describes depersonalization/derealization symptoms into accepting help to reduce symptoms?

Secondly, have any of you that is reading this ever experienced hearing voices and if so does this play into your diagnosis at all?

I think that's all I have for right now -- I have many more questions for you all and want to learn and understand your experiences so that I can best serve my client but will wait to see what kind of response I get first









Thanks - I am appreciative for any and all feedback.


----------



## Guest013 (Apr 26, 2010)

Here is a poll about the voices.

http://www.dpselfhelp.com/forum/index.php?/topic/21084-voices/

I don't think hearing voices is a common symptom of DP/DR. Hearing voices is more of a schizophrenic thing.

If she is happy where she is, why do you want to change that? Is her DP/DR interfering with her every day life? Usually DP/DR sufferers are not happy with their condition and obsess over trying to fix their condition, which perpetuates a continuous paranoia cycle. This is one of the main causes of DP/DR.

As far as recovery goes (if she even has DP/DR), hearing stories of other people who have fully recovered usually helps the outlook and helps stop DP/DR sufferers from obsessing over their disorder. If she is not continuously obsessing over her altered state, she might not have DP/DR but some other mental or dissociative disorder.

DP suffers have ...

Longstanding or recurring feelings of being detached from one's mental processes or body, as if one is observing them from the outside or in a dream.
Reality testing is unimpaired during depersonalization
Depersonalization causes significant difficulties or distress at work, or social and other important areas of life functioning.
Depersonalization sufferers are usually very self reflective and intelligent
Depersonalization sufferers are very aware that they have DP and know that something is wrong.
Paranoia over DP thinking it will never end.

Hope that helps! Good luck!


----------



## Guest (May 8, 2010)

msw_me said:


> Secondly, have any of you that is reading this ever experienced hearing voices and if so does this play into your diagnosis at all?


Actually a large portion of my symptoms has been hearing voices. They are voices of people I know. And it presents itself to my mind as telepathy, and hearing my name being said repeatedly with messages in a crowd like at a restaurant. I've had other (major) episodes, and also many smaller but still big episodes. When I first became DP I thought the Television and Radio/Music were giving me messages. This developed over the years that I've had DP (7 years) into hearing voices mostly. I take a med called Perphenazine which I started taking just last October (2009) for the voices. This med is an older anti-psychotic and is absolutely without a doubt the best one I've ever taken for any thing whether it is for Anxiety, Depression, or Delusions. I've taken Abilify also which helped somewhat but I didn't like how it made me feel (sleepy while awake and aware while I tried to sleep). I've also tried Respiradol which made me hallucinate as if I was on some Psychedelic drug. Seroquel also made me hallucinate with visions when I closed my eyes. I also took Klonopin for anxiety before I got DP. I only take Perphenazine (and a drug to counter some unwelcome side effects called Benztropine or Trilophan) now and I've found it helps me cope with DP as well as battling the voices.

I started a thread in the poll section of this forum about hearing voices and I seem to be the only one who actually does hear voices: http://www.dpselfhelp.com/forum/index.php?/topic/21084-voices/page__pid__188974__st__0&#entry188974

I hope this helps, 
Good luck!


----------



## Rebekah (May 16, 2009)

Info for the counselor. I had DP when I was 14 from smoking one pot joint and I have been through extensive and varied counseling and taken about every med on the books, both legal and illegal to self-medicate. Nothing helped more than good therapy. I was counseled by a very competent psychiatrist for many years and he was always trying to heal the underlying parental emotional abuse that was at the root of why I needed to disappear from myself. A loss of my person-hood, caused my de-person-alization. I feel good most days and relatively DP free, except when someone is treating me abusively--it can be as subtle as just a controlling person I interact with. I'm a person who needs to be treated as an equal 24/7 and cannot tolerate being power-tripped by anyone! I go crazy and dissociate. Your client may be sensitive to negative behavior in other people, too. Someone may be robbing this person of their authenticity. Many DP'ers claim they have good supportive relationships with their significant family members, but look a bit closer! It's usually denied and well-hidden. Please send a private message if you want to discuss anything in more depth.


----------



## Guest (May 8, 2010)

Rebekah said:


> Info for the counselor. I had DP when I was 14 from smoking one pot joint and I have been through extensive and varied counseling and taken about every med on the books, both legal and illegal to self-medicate. Nothing helped more than good therapy. I was counseled by a very competent psychiatrist for many years and he was always trying to heal the underlying parental emotional abuse that was at the root of why I needed to disappear from myself. A loss of my person-hood, caused my de-person-alization. I feel good most days and relatively DP free, except when someone is treating me abusively--it can be as subtle as just a controlling person I interact with. I'm a person who needs to be treated as an equal 24/7 and cannot tolerate being power-tripped by anyone! I go crazy and dissociate. Your client may be sensitive to negative behavior in other people, too. Someone may be robbing this person of their authenticity. Many DP'ers claim they have good supportive relationships with their significant family members, but look a bit closer! It's usually denied and well-hidden. Please send a private message if you want to discuss anything in more depth.


I've got to say I really relate with Rebekah on needing to be treated as an equal & not power tripped on. Simple arguments can shut me down, perceived as hostility or real hostility. I'm a really sensitive person too.


----------



## Xerei (Feb 17, 2010)

msw_me said:


> Hello everyone! This is my first post here and I truly hope that it is ok for me to post in this thread.
> 
> I am counselor working with a 13-year old female client who I think is describing symptoms for both depersonalization and derealization. I have about 4 more sessions with her before the school year ends (I've been seeing her for about 2 months) and would like to be able to help her as much as I can - connect her to other services etc. One of the biggest problems I'm having is that my client describes being happy where she is - I think it may be difficult for her to even possibly hope that things could be different for her. So here's question one:
> - How best to motivate an adolescent that describes depersonalization/derealization symptoms into accepting help to reduce symptoms?
> ...


well..idk if u can motivate a DPd person into taking meds...thats like..trying 2 eat hundred apples in 1 bite...at least it is 4 me...i think that a lot of the DP sufferers fear the side-effects of many medications, 1 of the side-effects is DEPERSONALIZATION! QUIT THE MEDS!
the best thing u can do: make her feel..special, strong, try boosting her self-esteem, try getting her mind on other thoughts than DP (cuz DP is hard 2 quit thinking about if u have it..).
Nd no, no voices 4 me...what did u say? (jzt kidding there..).
Now..shes often described as a happy person..well, that goes 4 a lot of DP sufferers actually, we hide the pain rly good..


----------



## EverDream (Dec 15, 2006)

Hi

She is very young. I wonder what's the cause of her DP and when it started. There are people that have DP as long as they can remember and they don't know other reality so for some it doesn't bother.

About the voices, I think it's not a common symptom for DP. It more common having obssesive thoughts or even kinda hearing your thoughts as inner voices, but it's usualy not the voices you are talking about.


----------



## msw_me (May 8, 2010)

Thanks so much for all of your helpful responses











> If she is happy where she is, why do you want to change that?


 Such a great questions! I guess part of my job as I see it is as an 'early interventionist' if that makes sense. I think she says that she is happy where she is because in a way it is protective toward her. She escapes into this kind of inner world or distortion of the external world because it represents a 'different' world than the reality of the one within which she 'truly' exists. I don't want to change who she is, but she has a lot of self-hate and devalues herself, I'd like to be able to encourage her to see her strengths.



> She probably feels like she has learned a great deal about life with this new kind of perception (DP) and wants to learn more with this apparently ego-less frame of mind. But I'd tell her all that she has learned or gained from DP/DR would only be enhanced through recovery





> Info for the counselor. I had DP when I was 14 from smoking one pot joint and I have been through extensive and varied counseling and taken about every med on the books, both legal and illegal to self-medicate. Nothing helped more than good therapy. I was counseled by a very competent psychiatrist for many years and he was always trying to heal the underlying parental emotional abuse that was at the root of why I needed to disappear from myself. A loss of my person-hood, caused my de-person-alization. I feel good most days and relatively DP free, except when someone is treating me abusively--it can be as subtle as just a controlling person I interact with. I'm a person who needs to be treated as an equal 24/7 and cannot tolerate being power-tripped by anyone! I go crazy and dissociate. Your client may be sensitive to negative behavior in other people, too. Someone may be robbing this person of their authenticity. Many DP'ers claim they have good supportive relationships with their significant family members, but look a bit closer! It's usually denied and well-hidden. Please send a private message if you want to discuss anything in more depth.


Reading your post really reminded of the last time I smoked pot -- I didn't realize it then but I was definitely experiencing some dp like symptoms. It was very unsettling and I haven't smoked pot since - this was about 13 years ago!

Also - my client lives in a very unstable home environment, has seen some pretty horrific violence occur bt her parents and there is a history of mental illness. It is interesting what you say about the power-tripping part.



> She is very young. I wonder what's the cause of her DP and when it started[/quote
> I'm not sure on this, I need to learn more about when her symptoms started.
> 
> Again thanks so much for all of your responses. If any of you have feedback on questions you think that might be especially important for me to ask my client, feel free to post them here. Thanks.


----------



## Guest (Jun 8, 2010)

EverDream said:


> Hi
> 
> She is very young. I wonder what's the cause of her DP and when it started. There are people that have DP as long as they can remember and they don't know other reality so for some it doesn't bother.
> 
> About the voices, I think it's not a common symptom for DP. It more common having obssesive thoughts or even kinda hearing your thoughts as inner voices, but it's usualy not the voices you are talking about.


EverDream is spot on with this, however, I have had DP/DR since childhood. I didn't like it. I DID have moments of clarity off and on through my youth, but this is an interesting question.

Also, "hearing voices" -- not a symptom of DP. Someone who has some psychosis where they hear voices ... literally HEAR them (not rumiations in one' head) can have DP as a secondary or COMORBID symptom. What do these voices say to her? Those who hear voices seem to hear negative, frightening things. And I don't know how this young girl could be "happy" with her situation.

I certainly can't connect with it. But we're all unique. Yes, ask about when this started, and ask what these voices say, and if they are "coming from other places -- like she is really hearing them" or are thoughts running through her head. There are so many possible diagnoses here. It seems to me she needs a psychiatric evaluation. You certainly can't force her. Also, if her home situation is very bad ... have you reported this to Child Protective Services? Seems awful to bring them into the mix though. That system isn't functional in and of itself.

Good luck!


----------

