Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Educators' Perceptions of Teaching Dissociative Disorders: A Reflexive Thematic Analysis.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Although the prevalence of dissociative disorders (DDs) is up to 10 percent of the general population, psychiatric-mental health (PMH) registered nurses lack education on how to care for individuals diagnosed with these disorders. METHOD: Sixty-two PMH nurse educators completed an anonymous online survey about their perceptions of teaching DDs to nursing students. Braun and Clarke's six-phase framework was used to conduct an inductive, reflexive thematic analysis of the data. RESULTS: Three primary themes were identified: lack of resources, differing opinions on the value of teaching DDs, and stigma. CONCLUSION: Though roughly 75 percent of participants reported that they teach DDs to their nursing students, they endorsed concerning misperceptions about the diagnoses. By failing to properly educate future PMH RNs about DDs, individuals with DDs are at risk of receiving inadequate and inappropriate nursing care and experiencing poor outcomes.

The lived experience of psychiatric-mental health nurses working with dissociative disorder inpatients: A phenomenological inquiry.

Nursing literature about dissociative disorders is lacking, resulting in a deficit of available evidence to drive nursing practice. This study sought to address this scarcity of literature by shedding light on the lived experiences of nurses who directly care or have cared for this population. Participants were individually interviewed along the lines of training, education, and personal experiences, and responses were analyzed to uncover themes found in multiple interviews. The result was a clear emphasis on improving education about the unique needs of individuals with dissociative disorders in order to improve the nursing care of this population.

Healthy Intimate Relationships and the Adult With Autism.

OBJECTIVE: An adult faces many challenges; however, one experience that is often taken for granted by neurotypical individuals is building intimate relationships. The purpose of this article is to discuss the barriers for healthy intimate relationships for an individual with autism, strategies to overcome these barriers, recommendations for future practice and research, and resources to improve knowledge of this important yet overlooked topic. METHOD: Data collection was done using research journals and databases such as EBSCO, SAGE Knowledge, MEDLINE, and CINAHL. The reviewed articles were published from 2015 to the present time. During the search process, the following key phrases were used: autism spectrum disorder, intimate relationships, sexuality education, and social skills. In total, 1,400 articles were found with an additional 52 sources found through other sources, of which 31 met inclusion criteria and were subsequently reviewed. RESULTS: Although those with autism have many strengths and talents, deficits in communication and social interaction can affect the formation of healthy adult relationships, including friendships and romantic relationships. In addition to social challenges, a lack of education regarding safe and healthy relationships can put an individual with autism at risk. CONCLUSIONS: It is imperative that that individuals with autism, their families, and health care professionals are educated about the barriers and able to access educational resources and specialized curricula on this topic.

Practicing What We Preach: Teaching Psychiatric-Mental Health Student Nurses to Care For Themselves.

It is well known that stress has a profoundly negative impact on the physical, mental, and spiritual health of nurses. In addition, undergraduate nursing students experience a tremendous amount of stress as a result of their academic and clinical requirements. In the current study, new self-care activities were introduced in an undergraduate psychiatric-mental health nursing course at a midsize, teaching-intensive university over the course of four academic semesters. Thematic analysis was conducted using qualitative feedback from 79 students who completed standard university course evaluations, and four major themes emerged: Stress Levels, Use of Self-Care Strategies and Coping Skills, Self-Reflection, and Perception of Instructor. Overall, students found value in self-care activities that have potential to reduce burnout, increase retention, and improve student and patient outcomes. Therefore, a proactive approach should be taken early in undergraduate programs to provide education to nursing students about strategies to combat the deleterious effects of stress and promote self-care. [Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 58(6), 40-45.].

Women With Dissociative Identity Disorder Who Experience Intimate Partner Violence.

Women with dissociative identity disorder (DID) are significantly more likely than other women to experience intimate partner violence (IPV). The purpose of this qualitative investigation was to explicate the experiences of women with DID who experience IPV and describe how they cope. Grounded theory was used to conduct this investigation. Purposive sampling was used to recruit participants (N = 5) for face-to-face, semi-structured interviews. Verbatim transcripts were coded and categorized, and reflective memos were developed to explicate substantive categories. Women with DID used coping strategies that were consistent with their diagnoses, such as switching and dissociating. These coping mechanisms reflect past self-preservation strategies that were developed in association with severe childhood maltreatment. Women with DID who experienced IPV sought to mitigate and safeguard themselves from danger using strategies they developed as maltreated children. Nurses can use these findings to better recognize and understand the motivations and behaviors of women with DID who experience IPV. [Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 56(5), 26-32.].

Helpful and meaningful aspects of a psychoeducational programme to treat complex dissociative disorders: a qualitative approach.

Purpose: Complex dissociative disorders (CDDs) are prevalent among psychotherapy clients, and research suggests carefully paced treatment for CDDs is helpful. The purpose of the present study is to qualitatively explore helpful and meaningful aspects of the TOP DD Network programme, a web-based adjunctive psychoeducational programme for the psychotherapeutic treatment of clients with CDDs.Methods: TOP DD Network programme participants (88 clients and 113 therapists) identified helpful and meaningful aspects of their participation in response to two open textbox questions. Framework analysis was used to qualitatively analyze client and therapist responses.Findings: Participants found the TOP DD Network programme helpful and meaningful in nuanced ways. Three themes were created: (1) Components of the Programme (subthemes: content, structure), (2) Change-Facilitating Processes (subthemes: heightened human connection, receiving external empathy and compassion, contributing to something bigger, improved therapeutic work and relationship), and (3) Outcomes (subthemes: insight, increased hope, self-compassion, increased safety and functioning). The most emphasized theme was components of the programme, which captured its content and structure.Conclusion: Clients and therapists in the TOP DD Network programme described the programme's components and processes as helpfully facilitating positive outcomes in the treatment of CDDs. Therapists may consider integrating the components and processes in the programme into their practice with clients with CDDs.

The aim of the present study was to qualitatively explore significant aspects of the TOP DD Network programme through the experiences of complex dissociative disorder (CDD) clients and psychotherapists.Helpful and meaningful aspects of the programme included its components (i.e. content and structure), processes, and outcomes.This psychoeducational programme can be effective and result in improved therapeutic processes and outcomes for individuals with CDDs in psychotherapy.

Nursing Students' Perceptions of a Community Health Street Outreach Experience: Thematic Analysis.

BACKGROUND: There has been increased focus within nursing to address social determinants of health (SDOH), and nurse educators are urged to integrate SDOH into the curriculum, strengthen community and public health (CPH) clinical experiences, and provide service-learning opportunities. Therefore, student feedback was sought for a CPH clinical experience involving street outreach. METHOD: Two groups of nursing students conducted street outreach with unstably housed individuals in an urban area in the eastern United States. Focus groups and thematic analysis were conducted. RESULTS: Students expressed high levels of satisfaction with the experience. The following themes were identified: Influence of Prior Experiences, Transformational Experience, and Making a Difference. Following the CPH experience, the majority of students reported they were considering working in CPH nursing. CONCLUSION: Engaging in street outreach and similar experiences has the potential to improve nursing students' perceptions of CPH clinical experiences and prepare them for careers in CPH nursing. [J Nurs Educ. 2022;61(7):394-397.].

Detecting clinical and simulated dissociative identity disorder with the Test of Memory Malingering.

OBJECTIVE: Few studies have assessed malingering in individuals with complex trauma and dissociation. This is concerning because these individuals' severe and ranging symptoms are associated with elevations on some, but not all, validity scales that detect symptom exaggeration. Dissociative individuals may experience dissociative amnesia, yet no study to date has examined how to distinguish clinical from malingered amnesia with dissociative samples. The current study examined whether the Test of Memory Malingering (TOMM) can accurately distinguish patients with clinically diagnosed dissociative identity disorder (DID) and simulators coached to imitate DID. METHOD: Utility statistics classify individuals' TOMM scores as suggestive of clinical or simulated DID. TOMM scores from 31 patients diagnosed with DID via structured interviews were compared to those of 74 coached DID simulators. RESULTS: Discriminant analyses found scores from TOMM Trials 1 and 2 and total TOMM scores accurately classified clinical or simulated DID group status. In addition, TOMM Trial 1 demonstrated high specificity (87%) and positive predictive power (94%), as well as moderate sensitivity (78%), negative predictive power (63%), and overall diagnostic power (81%). Despite exposure to DID-specific information, simulators were not able to accurately feign the DID group's TOMM scores, which is inconsistent with the iatrogenic/sociocultural model of DID. CONCLUSION: The TOMM shows promise as useful in clinical and forensic contexts to detect memory malingering among DID simulators without sacrificing specificity. Accurate distinction between genuine and feigned complex trauma-related symptoms, including dissociative memory, is integral to the accurate diagnosis of traumatized populations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).