Ego-States (Parts and Dissociation)

Everyone has parts, what about me?

Ego‑states and parts work are practical, evidence‑based ways to understand and heal after trauma and structural dissociation. When trauma fragments your sense of self, different “parts” or ego‑states form to hold memories, feelings, roles, and coping responses. Parts work helps you:

  • Identify and name parts so they stop acting automatically.

  • Learn each part’s role and the needs it’s trying to meet.

  • Improve communication and cooperation between parts.

  • Build a compassionate, stabilizing presence that can negotiate change.

I use gentle, phased approaches: first establishing safety and stabilization; then accessing and working with parts at a manageable pace; and finally integrating trauma memories and restoring a cohesive self‑organization. The goal is not to eliminate parts but to reduce conflict, increase flexibility, and help previously isolated parts share resources and regulation with a grounded, adult self.

If you have structural dissociation, I provide pacing, containment, and clear boundaries to minimize re‑traumatization. Expect concrete tools (breathing, grounding, internal dialogues, safe‑place imagery) and tasks to strengthen self‑leadership between sessions.

Three yellow ranunculus flowers with green stems and yellow rose petals scattered on a white surface.

The process I use for dissociative experiences:

Every individual who visits my practice will receive a few outcome measures and assessments in their therapy portal. These include:

- Dissociative Experiences Scale II (DES II)

- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5)

- Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7 (GAD-7)

- Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9)

Depending on your answers, I may invite you to complete additional questionnaires like the Multidimensional Inventory for Dissociation (MID-60) and/or the McLean Screening Instrument for Borderline Personality Disorder (MSI-BPD). These help us identify your experiences and target troubling symptoms.

After assessing and planning treatment, I ask folks to reflect on their therapeutic priorities. Some may want to move from stabilization to trauma processing, while others may need help developing a sense of safety. Based on their answers, we can determine our priorities and use specific interventions tailored to their needs.