The TOP DD Studies

Few studies have assessed how patients with dissociative disorders (DD) respond to treatment. The paucity of research contributes to the limited awareness of DD and the lack of training for treatment providers.

The Treatment of Patients with Dissociative Disorders (TOP DD) Studies examine DD treatment process and progress in the service of identifying the most effective treatments for DD. Finding the most beneficial and cost effective interventions for DD patients is crucial because DD are associated with severe symptoms and considerable suffering, serious impairment in functioning, and high treatment costs. 

The TOP DD research team has conducted a series of studies aimed at evaluating and refining DD treatment, including a prospective, naturalistic study of treatment outcome among DD patients from around the world (“the naturalistic treatment study”) and a survey aimed at capturing DD experts’ recommendations to identify the specific treatment interventions experts have found effective at various stages in DD treatment (“the expert survey”). Most recently, we completed a study of a web-based educational program for DD patients and their therapists (“the Network study”) that was informed by the results of our previous studies.