Dissociative Amnesia

Patients with this Dissociative Disorder experience marked but reversible impairment of recall of important personal information or experience, usually involving emotional trauma.

Diagnostic criteria for 300.12 Dissociative Amnesia

A. The predominant disturbance is one or more episodes of inability to recall important personal information, usually of a traumatic or stressful nature, that is too extensive to be explained by ordinary forgetfulness. 

B. The disturbance does not occur exclusively during the course of Dissociative Identity DisorderDissociative FuguePosttraumatic Stress DisorderAcute Stress Disorder, or Somatization Disorder and is not due to the direct physiological effects of a substance (e.g., a drug of abuse, a medication) or a neurological or other general medical condition (e.g., Amnestic Disorder Due to Head Trauma). 

C. The symptoms cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.

Reprinted with permission from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision. Copyright 2000 American Psychiatric Association

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