Tay asks:  “I was wondering if (you) had any insight on inpatient vs. outpatient care specifically with someone suffering from dissociative disorders.  what are the pros and cons and (do you) know of any inpatient places that deal with these disorders.”

Mr. C. says, Dissociative disorders often take a lengthy time to heal, making it difficult or impossible to get well on the eight outpatient visits that might be authorized on the average insurance plan.  The advantage to going inpatient is that you can often move more quickly through your healing.  Another advantage is that you don’t have to go home, be responsible, and function after intense therapy sessions.  If you are unable to function effectively in your daily activities (such as having a job, acting the part of parent or spouse, caring for personal hygiene, etc.) consider something more intensive than regular outpatient.  There are also levels of care that are in-between standard outpatient care and inpatient care, including intensive outpatient (usually treatment a few hours on most days) and day treatment (treatment all day and staying at night at a place of your choosing).  Of course, each of these comes with its own cost, which is a factor to consider also.  Inpatient is usually the most costly, as you might guess. 

Although I have worked in a state hospital where dissociative disorders were occasionally seen, I don’t have first hand knowledge of inpatient settings that actively focus on these disorders.  Even though I can’t recommend any particular program, here are a couple of websites that you might be interested in:

 http://bsd.clinicalsocialwork.com/treatmentcenters.html

http://www.networktherapy.com/directory/find_facility.asp

I recommend that you get as much information about a program as possible before signing on the dotted line.  Look at their webpages online, and contact someone as well via email or phone.  Tour the facility if possible.  Find out about their treatment philosophy and see if it sounds like something that would work for you.  Ask about their treatment team.  It would be important for them to have a psychiatrist on board.  Get information about their daily schedule–how much treatment does a person get in a day, and what kind of treatment is it?  Find out about cost and if they have scholarships or financial help (if you need it).   If you can find anyone that has been to the treatment center, ask them about their experience. 

I’m sorry for your suffering and hope that you will find the best treatment possible to relieve it.  Best wishes for good healing!