Clinicians and researchers use a language of fragmentation that limits experiential descriptions of women abuse survivors. Secondary analysis of focused life stories of women recovering from both substance use and childhood sexual abuse (CSA) revealed in vivo descriptions of dissociative experiences. Findings included seven categorical themes and additional observations of behavior during interviews that qualify and/or contradict conventional empirical and clinical conceptualizations. It is concluded that the language of fragmentation is not universally applicable to diverse abuse and survival experiences. An alternative language about core issues was salient in the data. Questions are raised about tensions between participants' narratives and current clinical practice, theory, and research.
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