Dissociative Experiences Scale

I have not seen a thread about the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES) here yet, so let's make one now. DES is a well validated screening instrument for assessing clients' degree of dissociation. Here is a link to an online version of the DES:

http://counsellingresource.com/lib/quiz ... tests/des/

The cut-off for prompting further assessment for DID is 30. Although only 17% of therapy clients who score over 30 have DID, most people who have DID do score over 30. That means a score below 30 is almost enough to rule out DID but a score over 30 only calls for further assessment.

Colin Ross has published a very detailed analysis of the DES here: http://www.rossinst.com/dissociative_ex ... scale.html

I got 59 today (it changes depending on who answers ) I quite like this test though I think for some of the questions the scale is too vague and one question in particular irks me

Some people are told that they sometimes do not recognize friends or family members

No-one has ever told me I don't but I don't. Quick example, when I think about my little sister S I imagine her face- but I don't, what I "see" in my head is a photo of her that was on the wall of our family home, taken of her when she was about 4, everytime she comes to visit I get a surprise because she is now 30! I only "recognise" other members of my family because they have facebook avatars that happen to be photos of them- but again, case in point one of my FB friends has hair like one of my sisters and from a distance their avatars look very similar so my picture in my head of what that sister looks like is often the face of my FB friend. I'm seriously in trouble if they change their FB avatars to cartoon characters or something!

Wow sorry went off on a tangent there. Incidentally I'm not diagnosed as DID

Holy crap I scored 71 but I don't think I could be that dissociative?? I don't have the problem with people knowing me who I've never met/remember meeting, but I do have problems believing that people and things around me are real. I once was next to my boyfriend at the supermarket and for at least 20 minutes I didn't believe he was my boyfriend, it seems so strange. I kept touching his arm but my mind kept thinking he was a stranger, even though I was clearly looking right at my boyfriend and I knew it was him, it just felt so odd.

This test is pretty good for dissociation, the "some people" aspect helped me collect everyone inside's responses if they had any instead of focusing on just my response like some other tests have made me feel I had to do.

I'm trying to answer this for everyone. The "some people" is creating some awkward phrasing though

Total score of: 59
(30 or Above, Higher Association With DID)

Yeah, well.. Big shock. lol. We can't go a day without commentary.

I score 47.

Many experiences of dissociation are independent of DID. Although I have DID and of course it goes back almost my entire life, only recently have I experienced a lot of dissociative symptoms per se. Conversely, I know some people who have far more severe dissociative symptoms on a daily basis who apparently do not have DID.

I have met strangers who know me, and who have reported that I displayed a distinct other personality state. I have experienced possession. I have experienced discontinuities in perception. I have DID.

July 5, 2011 update. I posted the above on May 25, 2011. In March or April 2011 I scored 47 on the DES. After recognizing additional symptoms, in June I scored 55. However, counting mostly symptoms experienced just in the last few months, not earlier, I scored 33. I am functioning far better now than 6 months ago. Therapy has helped, but in addition to therapy I am learning a lot and doing a lot of self-help work, and talking to more people. This DID forum (and other support groups concerning issues my alters have) has been very helpful, but I have also expanded my support network among my friends in real life. My husband just finished reading Robert Oxnam's memoir.

I scored 67. No surprise really. At least to me. (Jason)

In 2004, I scored a 63. I don't want to retake it, I'm too nervous.

we've done it a few times in the last 8 months and our very first score with our T (who got us to do it in the 2nd session) i think was 63 or something but now, with alot going on internally, its up to 68... It's been as high as 71 once too. But or us, the usual is in the 60's.

it's interesting, but like everything, it's no definitive answer of "yes u have DID" or "no you don't". I guess it's not supposed to be that way in the first place, still, it's interesting to see other's results too.

As a result of another thread, we also took the depersonalizaton quiz thing last night too and scored 57 on that....
Interesting, though, because i don't really see myself as experiencing those symptoms as much as the dissociative ones...

Very interesting!

thanks for the thread Una.

67, interesting. Now I want to get my non DID friends to take it.

I answered on the base of my current situation as it has been for the past few years and got 44.
I did this earlier thinking of my entire life history and scored 71.