Do dissociative disorders exist in Northern Ireland?: Blind psychiatric - structured interview assessments of 20 complex psychiatric patients

Background and objectives: Dissociative disorders remain relatively controversial diagnoses in British psychiatry. The aim of the current paper was to assess Northern Irish psychiatric patients with complex clinical presentations for dissociative disorders. Method: Twenty patients meeting operationally defined criteria for psychiatric complexity were blindly assessed by a psychiatrist in a diagnostic interview followed by a clinical psychologist in a structured interview. Results: Thirteen of the 20 participants were positive for at least one dissociative disorder. Those with a dissociative disorder had a range of co-morbid problems and all reported histories of childhood trauma and neglect. Conclusion: The psychiatric symptom profiles of dissociative disorders in Northern Ireland are similar to those reported in the literature. Complex psychiatric presentations offer a potential diagnostic clue for such conditions.