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In this third book written by this author, a focus is on both theory and clinical experience from many years of dealing with dissociative disorders from the interpersonal-relational perspective. Bromberg, a master writer, presents his experience and perspective examining normal and pathological dissociation in a most readable manner. His clinical examples are lucid and interesting, demonstrating well his understanding and perspective. He clearly outlines his models of dissociation, emphasizing the importance of activation of what he calls ‘not-me’, self-states of consciousness, both in life and in therapy. He notes that dissociative states are always triggered by an ‘other’ — interpersonally or intra-psychically. In keeping with his thinking, he emphasizes that intersubjectivity — seeing oneself through the eyes of an ‘other’, particularly when that reflection is from some dissociated, unknown aspect of the self — can be felt to be an unbearable stress, as opposed to a genuine gift. For those with a background of chronic relational trauma, dissociation can become a structure and way of life, not just a mental process to deal with stress or over-stimulation.
The author's description of an ‘enactment’ as a shared dissociative event that compromises the capacity for affect regulation in both participants becomes a major theme in this work, as is his description of the ‘messinese’ of the therapy in such situations. Bromberg goes on to demonstrate how therapy is an attempt, through the dyadic relationship, to help the patient distinguish and tolerate affective arousal and regulation, rather than having an overwhelming affective reliving of a dissociated traumatic experience — what he designates as the ‘shadow of the tsunami’.
Bromberg gives his own perspectives on mentalization, the capacity to embrace relationally one's own mind and the mind of the other as a coherent experience of intersubjectivity. In agreement with the perspective of Schore, Bromberg also is sensitive