Is Psychosis Meaningful? Trauma, Dissociation and Schizophrenia - Part I

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In this first lecture of Understanding Delusions and Hallucinations from a Trauma and Dissociation Perspective, Dr. Andrew Moskowitz focuses on the taxonomy of trauma. In regular parlance, its usage is quite broad; while its formal deployment in diagnoses such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is comparatively narrow.
From the introduction to the lecture series:
Professor Andrew Moskowitz analyses the recent transformation of the medical understanding of madness. There has been sustained resistance, driven by cognitive psychology research and insights from the trauma and dissociation field, that challenges the orthodoxy of viewing psychosis as an organic malfunction. Against this view of madness as ‘incomprehensible’, comes the position that psychotic symptoms are not only meaningful but that their meaning must be understood for genuine healing to occur.
A playlist containing all three lectures:
• Is Psychosis Meaningfu...
This lecture series is partly based on the book Psychosis, Trauma and Dissociation of which, more here: www.wiley-vch.de/en?option=co...
Andrew Moskowitz, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and current Professor of Psychology and Dean of Undergraduate Programs at Touro College, Berlin. His research has a specific focus on areas of violent and psychotic behaviour, particularly in their relation to trauma and dissociation.

[@justinfromdietweeb3553]

Cobi if you read this alot of love towards you man carry on

[@jadensity847]

hope cobi is ok

[@elibonham4388]

Dude when did he update his channel and put that thumbnail and description I was horrified when I saw it

[@marcosvivanco2433]

Can someone explain?

[@elibonham4388]

@@marcosvivanco2433 explain what? Cobi has lost it

[@TheVinlandedge]

Me too

[@Burevestnik9M730]

in which mental institution are you based in?

[@stoneeon]

For me it is one of the best videos which explains trauma and the different states of consciousness. Professor Moskowitz does an excellent job! He even says, that a trauma can be caused by breakups or bullying. This is good to hear because people wouldn't feel recognised because their trauma doesn't appear in the list of trauma causing events. Their experience is also valid! A trauma is personal and can be caused by other people and not only by apparently traumatising events. A trauma can happen to everyone. Let us be mindful and nice to each other, because a traumatized society isn't a happy and functioning society.

[@pineappleflow2876]

The big difference is that the trauma from neglect is invisible, while the trauma from physical abuse is more visible

[@jichaelmorgan3796]

A couple of thoughts to consider: someone who is born hypersensitive is more susceptible to events that may not be traumatic to average people/children, and trauma causes hypersensitivity. Children with autism tend to be hypersensitive, so I wouldn't be surprised if some symptoms are mixed with unrecognized trauma because of the above. But I'm not an expert about that.

[@lisasanusi4206]

only watching to this lecturer already gave me a sense of validation to my suffering soul

[@panelolli]

Try dating aspies you'll feel at peace for a while

[@kahlodiego5299]

The title alone does.

[@philiphammar]

Great lecture, thanks professor!

[@agoateatingvinesinalabyrinth]

Long live stillpoint, utter comrades

[@sirmeepenstein2844]

I just read the description in your channel, and while it might not be much, just know that you are loved. For what it’s worth, there are still people who care about you and want to see you succeed; people who want to see you find hope. I hope you do well.

[@user-yo7fk4vl2g]

Great talk! The speaker is awesome. Thank you so much.

[@sandraj4830]

Phenomenal lecture! Thank you!

[@HeliumXenonKrypton]

@14:07, I think the reference to Judith Herman is on the right track. Your answer to the question at the 59:30 minute mark is deeply insightful, I'm really impressed by this. At approximately 1:10:00 the discussion of sexuality does need more focus because fantasy and daydreaming are powerfully linked and it is very easy for people to deliberately dissociate simply by fantasizing. This could actually be a primary reason why we see a lot of hypersexualized behavior these days. It is not because people are perverts, or miscreants. It is equally plausible that they are seeking the sexual outlet as a means of experiencing the virtual reality in their own mind, for pain relief, pain due to trauma. I do not think that this is universally true of all hypersexualized people but would certainly explain many of them.

[@OG-MONK-NUMBER1]

Parental alienation is a devastating epidemic which is being overlooked. I shudder to think about how many children and parents (approximately 85% fathers) who have been traumatised by the living bereavement of parental alienation.

[@arcadiansounds2850]

whats that?

[@henrix999]

Check Minhunter series

[@arcadiansounds2850]

@@henrix999 i have. is he talking about abandonment?

[@henrix999]

Its all about missing fathers, in one way or another

[@msgirl01]

@@arcadiansounds2850 it's where one patent turns the child against the other sometimes even inadvertently and the other parent is mostly, at least emotionally, removed from the childs life

[@tracik1277]

These lectures are excellent. They have taught me and helped me ten times more than any self-help book, pseudo-psychology/popular science type psychology or indeed any counsellors/therapists I have seen . The reason for this opinion is that these lectures go into depth and detail of explanation which none of the above mentioned have even got anywhere near doing. I have above average intelligence and a very curious mind so the whys and wherefores are of extreme importance and necessity to me. I have had some tremendous breakthroughs in unravelling a lifetime’s worth of very complex and convoluted trauma and its effects by listening to these and Dr Bessel Van Der Kolk .

[@sp5704]

Agree with you , same here , all the therapists and counselors just waste my time . The Internet has much valuable and detailed information .

[@LostYouAre]

what an excellent lecture, thank you all for posting these

[@sp5704]

His voice is soft spoken so it is easier to follow his lecture .

[@msgirl01]

Very interesting Great questions at the end as well

[@quandaledingleofficial6]

Cobi i hope u are ok you Made me happy after rough days at school with your Fun Lets play video’s when i was younger

[@Burevestnik9M730]

in which mental institution are you based in?

[@kimlec3592]

Truth: trauma can be seemingly minor, but if it continues to bother a person, it's trauma !

[@johan9833]

Cobi hope u doing good bruh

[@Burevestnik9M730]

who the heck is cobi?

[@petezaming125_yt6]

Cobi fans anyone?

[@revolveswayyy]

me

[@voyddeath3340]

Same

[@ver146]

Me

[@wc1y]

yep

[@BlueeJ]

I feel so bad for him.

[@BETSHY]

Thank you for publishing this lecture. #psyops

[@jonathankarlsson1505]

Taking passive smoking to a whole new level 38:00

[@EynerZagal]

who else came here from cobanermani456 I hope you get better soon and won't be a another Etika you were apart of my childhood

[@lexxusskyyearzz5459]

Pain changes people.

[@rubygloom1139]

45:00-47:00 perhaps a simplemans explanation to incite one's own unpacking of trauma. we are terrified of what we feel, what happened and we distrust what wwe think about it, how we feel about it.

[@kimlec3592]

@ Lazarus : Totally !!!

[@thebrocialist8300]

Superb lecture

[@saraturcotte9069]

I' ve always felt like I could understand the trauma and the ideas behind a psychotic discourse. This is why I am soothening to those patients.

[@TheBirdBrothers]

I am traumatised by the rear side of his collar :D haha. Great lecturer, very lucid exposition.

[@Tomi-berry]

Cobi has this? :(

[@Burevestnik9M730]

in which mental institution are you based in?

[@galalon2417]

Awesome lecture. All so true. Can compartmentalization divide one's self into many modes/states of mind? Can a person hold 25 simultaneous streams of conciousness, on standby, triggering one prevailing stream , to suit circumstances? Can such a condition result in enhanced perception/ superhuman perception? I have to watch this lecture , again.

[@tracik1277]

I wonder about things along theses lines too. From personal experience having to figure out a very complex family dynamic by myself - everyone dead or estranged now.

[@galalon2417]

@@tracik1277 i am sorry for your family. I feel your pain. Do you experience compartmentalisation of the mind , yourself?

[@tracik1277]

@@galalon2417 It's a strange story, sadly there is not much love lost in the members of the family and they didn't really know the meaning of the word sorry, I never heard any of them use it anyway. It's 20 years ago now and I am just beginning to fit all the parts together and finally making sense of a situation that never made any sense, if that makes sense, with the help of these and other lectures. As for compartmentalisation, I am still in the process of understanding this and other terms. I have obviously had to live my life as best I can without any support and other life events have had to be dealt with. There are periods when I 'get lost in the past' and I have used my imagination to escape from unpleasantness of my past. I have always been able to remember things along a timeline and basically it feels that it is all either present or just beneath a surface facade. Edit: I just read over your 1st comment again and I do relate to some of this. For instance, I can hold 2 or 3 streams of consciousness at once with additional tangents of the subject matter, and can do things like watch a film and imagine visually something else at the same time. That's not much of a problem, but actually doing more than one physical thing at a time and maintaining focus on either is practically impossible, including reading text and listening to speaking - so I pause on slides in a video to read the text - I like to think about what I am reading; when driving I can think or sing but I can't hold a conversation or look at a sat nav (I stopped driving 10 years ago). I have had a few what might have been out of body experiences, and occasionally get some kind of hypnogogic 'parallel universe' thing where I am not me, where my actual dreams I am always me.

[@galalon2417]

@@tracik1277 thank you for your elaborated reply. My heart goes out to you , Traci. I can imagine what it is like for you. Perhaps, you cant miss something you never had? Wonder if a deprivation of a loving family , held you back? How does it feel for you? Does it leave emptiness? Self mourning? When something is lost, is something found? Hope life treat you kind, traci, you deserve it. Your out of body experiences, does it have special sensory qualities to it? Does A single stream of consciousness have a specialised skill to it, for you? You dont have to answer any of my questions ,Traci, if you dont want to, i would understand.

[@Burevestnik9M730]

@mycodiego On Instagram in which mental institution are you based in?

[@makaylahollywood3677]

Interestingly, I can read something and listen to another simultaneously. I always wondered how i developed this skill. It feels like a split in the mind- and, never think anyone would ever understand it. Then, i think how playing the piano with two hands takes the same type of brain coordination.

[@Burevestnik9M730]

@mycodiego On Instagram in which mental institution are you based in?

[@sr2291]

Court reporters have to do that. I am doing that right now, reading your comment and listening to the video. I am also writing this comment while listening to the video.

[@saharsakhaei3507]

I am looking for the name of this great Professor and I can't find it !

[@Gedankenwald]

It's Andrew Moskowitz. :)

[@TheVinlandedge]

Cobi plz be ok you are my childhood everybody loves you cobi ❤️

[@siryoucantdothat9743]

So melancholy is a form of dissociation

[@ohelno]

Great vid. I describe the experience of depersonalization as “the zero person perspective”. As opposed to 1st, 2nd, or 3rd. The perspective is no longer experienced as “had” by a pronoun. It is subjectivity sans subject. Similarly to Buddhist enlightenment but awful.

[@kahlodiego5299]

DOUBLEBIND

[@VigiliusHaufniensis]

No empirical research ever backed doublebind up

[@kahlodiego5299]

@@VigiliusHaufniensis I lived it. Good enough for me.

[@kahlodiego5299]

@@VigiliusHaufniensis Talent.

[@kahlodiego5299]

Batesons double-blind theory.

[@richardprice9730]

38:00 Did it not occur to this eminent psychologist that like a child the person was playing a "game" with him and he was the audience ! if a soldier were to turn round I, m out a here guess what ,trauma is real ,people getting stuck in inner thoughts feelings ,but sometimes the behaviour is reinforced ,why ? Because on some level it us advantageous to do so isn,t that much closer lets be real here some fictional writers spend 90% of thier time in this liminal state .

[@ragnardonkin3481]

What is Clegenatur Methods? We have noticed many awesome things about this popular breast enhancement methods.

[@Burevestnik9M730]

in which mental institution are you based in?

[@VigiliusHaufniensis]

@@Burevestnik9M730 why are you repeating this question underneath every comment?

[@nonvmf]

Cobi?

[@Burevestnik9M730]

in which mental institution are you based in?

[@nonvmf]

@@Burevestnik9M730 the one closest to ur moms house, its actually pretty convenient.

[@Burevestnik9M730]

@@nonvmf yo mom fkd u in cobi?

[@nonvmf]

@@Burevestnik9M730 nah me a cobi ran a train on ur mum tho 😹

[@Burevestnik9M730]

@@nonvmf yo mam frted u out of her arso

[@ajaynagar8717]

Explore 🤔🤔

[@TylerDobbs64]

I wish we would get some conclusive evidence about these new drugs in the works targeting negative symtoms and what that really means. If it targets the underlying anhedonia that preceds psychosis at all. The ability to go after one’s dreams again and hold down a job or even career for that matter

[@yourRussianBoi]

The man who calls himself an cobermani456 has this kind of problem. Nobody knows but with Wayback Machine he has seriously diseases that his psychosis couldn't handle it. Us, his viewers, do not know what happened to him after he left his KZbin channel, most likely gone, got low from Internet, his family, friends and fans.

[@yp77738yp77739]

I find it abusive that these people medicalise normal distributions of behaviours, it’s beyond fraud as unnecessary medical intervention, particularly with the use pharmacological agents, does harms.

[@Burevestnik9M730]

buddy, there is no SZ, only SZSD. Same with psychosis

[@Basstroutfishing]

#stop saying right as a filler word to be cute

[@Burevestnik9M730]

buddy, never write more than 3 bullets ona slide. sit down, 1.

[@Burevestnik9M730]

buddy, you are very confused and you are not presenting well. no wonder that you only have BA degree. first of all, life itself is trauma. 10% of 7 billion will experience depression. 12% personality disorders. 1.1% SZ. and so on. if you do not have robust genes you'll suffer. there is even the term for this: HSP. Hyper Sensitive Personalities. On closer examination, you'll find slight cognitive impairments in early childhood. you'll find neuro-dermatitis, food allergies etc. and all of that on spectrums. hypersensitivity cause by malfunction of around 400 genes. HSPs cannot handle life. the genetics is not Mendelian though. 50% of HSPs will end up with a mental disorder, with average comorbidities of 3 disorders. therefore, it goes without saying, SZ/SZA and/or C-PTSD and/or NVLD and/or ADD and/or ASD etc.

[@susiearviso3032]

Is Psychosis "meaningful?" Really? That's a question? Excuse me, but psychosis cannot be stopped or cured. Patients can "work" with the doctor, plan and do homework .... maybe even have a set up plan for when they go into psychosis. But Psychosis comes when it wants to; with or without meds and plans. It doesn't warn you and it stays as long as it feels like. It attacks others who try to help and it keeps a person unable to meet their goals or have a consistent life. That's the plain, blatant truth.

[@GM-yb5yg]

No, this your attempt to compartmentalize a very complex and difficult bio psychological issue. You can medicate, disown and ignore all the your psychological trauma as much you want. However, people who actually deal with underlying causes which you clearly do NOT want to deal with, have a tendency to actually improve. You see, it's easier to see yourself as a victim of a disease that happened to you, than to see yourself as a person who actually suffered as a child and had no one to talk to. Avoid your underlying core emotions, drug yourself,deny, be a victim, hide from the shit that you cannot deal. Or, you can get better by connecting with those past traumas that have completely clouded your sense of self.

[@elenakusevska6266]

I think the question was meant as a semantic question. As in, how meaningful or useful is the term psychosis. I think this talk contained a very thoughtful analysis of the role the meaning of words used to describe psychological symptoms play in our understanding of the disorders and the experiences of the patients. I think that's what he was trying to say. What do we even mean when we say psychosis and is this term specific enough and useful?

[@_starryeyes6026]

Phychosis is a mental pathway that your brain creates in response to abuse (so its meaningful... not just a symptom but a cure to self heal that comes in to help or destroy a persons sense of self so it can purge its soul also alters want to be recognized by the host.

[@theunspoken1059]

@@_starryeyes6026 Psychosis is meaningful to psychoanalysis, but of no meaning whatsoever to the medical model. I have a feeling the original comment referred to a medical doctor, as is the unfortunate usual case these days.

[@anattablue]

It seems you have not listened to the lecture nor understood the goal of the question