TY  - JOUR
AU  - Lau, C.
AU  - Seifert, K.
AU  - McCormick, C.
AU  - Taube, J.
AU  - Philipsen, A.
AU  - Pensel, MC
TI  - A photo logbook against dissociative amnesias - a case report
JO  - Psychiatry research case reports
VL  - 5
IS  - 1
SN  - 2773-0212
CY  - [Amsterdam]
PB  - Elsevier
M1  - DZNE-2026-00348
SP  - 100307
PY  - 2026
AB  - We report on a 47-year-old female patient who was diagnosed with a complex dissociative disorder, including dissociative identity disorder (DID) and dissociative amnesias in everyday life. Dissociative amnesias represent a major challenge for patients, as they reduce coherence in everyday experience and are accompanied by an impaired sense of agency. The neurobiological background of dissociative amnesia has been little researched, and therapeutic options specifically targeting this symptom are rare. In a photo elicitation interview, the patient reports of amnesias regarding her past, but also of time gaps in everyday life. To structure her experience of time, she reports of taking up to 200 photos of her immediate surroundings with her phone every day, which she regularly reviews in the evening. As an outcome, reviewing these photos provides a structuring frame for her everyday memory, reduces symptoms of perceived time gaps, and thereby increases her reported sense of agency. In addition, the photographic motifs also provide insights into the processing of dissociative experiences, e.g., regarding feelings of fragmentation and disruption. Furthermore, MRI-data of the patient were analysed and results are compatible with overall volume increases of the hippocampus following pattern completion tasks (specifically in CA2/3 subfields), and reduced volumes in CA1 subfields, as previously reported in patients with dissociative amnesia. The case report stresses the usefulness of photographs in complex dissociative disorders, as a complementary diagnostic tool regarding dissociative states and as a therapeutic method against dissociative amnesias. An involvement of the hippocampus is suggested but needs further scientific exploration.
LB  - PUB:(DE-HGF)16
DO  - DOI:10.1016/j.psycr.2025.100307
UR  - https://pub.dzne.de/record/285812
ER  -