I posted the way to practice the disidentification technique and its merit, so I’d like to describe the limitation of a disidentification exercise. As pointed out, there are some merits in this exercise, but it is also important for us to recognize the limitation of this exercise in an appropriate manner. Assagioli (1965) stated that this technique should be used in a careful manner for the patients who tend to focus on their inner mental world too much such as self-exploration or self-reflection (p. 122). Furthermore, we need to be especially careful of the following point:
Under the limitations and contra-indications of this technique it is important to consider certain dangers which may be present in cases such as borderline-psychotics, particularly when there is a condition of “de-personalization,” e.g., when a patient has the feeling that his body does not belong to him. Then the added emphasis on “I am not the body” may further widen the split and run contrary to the fundamental idea of bio-psychosynthesis. (Assagioli, 1965, p. 123)
We should use this technique not only looking at the useful aspect, but also understanding the above limitations in the proper way.
Reference: Psychosynthesis
