Andrew Laeddis: Dissociative Identity Disorder

Andrew Laeddis is a Caucasian male in his mid-30s, who is very intelligent. After serving in the Army in Europe during WWII and participating in the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp, Andrew became a U.S. Marshal. He has been institutionalized at Ashecliffe Hospital for the criminally insane for two years, since he shot and killed his wife after discovering that she had killed their three children. In response to his traumatic experience, Andrew Laeddis developed multiple disorders, namely posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as well as dissociative identity disorder (DID) and delusional disorder which developed after the PTSD.
Not much is known of Andrew’s childhood. He was married to Dolores Chanel, who exhibited suicidal behaviors.

The two identities show very different personality states - Andrew is compliant and remorseful, whereas Teddy is defiant and suspicious. The switching back and forth between personality states is the first diagnostic criterion of dissociative identity disorder (DID) (American Psychological Association [APA], 2013, p 292). Andrew also meets the other four criteria: when he believes he is “Teddy”, he does not recall important personal information, including his own name and the fact that he had three children (criterion B); his social and occupational function is significantly impaired by his insistence that he is not legitimately a patient at the hospital, which leads him to violent attempts to escape (criterion C); and the symptoms are not part of “a broadly accepted cultural or religious practice” or “attributable to the physiological effects of a substance...or other medical condition” (criteria D and E) (APA, 2013, p. 292). These additional symptoms are important for distinguishing between patients with PTSD alone and those with PTSD and DID

According to our text, the reason for this is because “the dimensions interact with one another and combine in different ways to result in post-traumatic stress disorder” (Sue et al. 2014, p. 124). Contrary to common belief, PTSD is not caused by any singular traumatic event, and instead affects individuals who typically react highly to stress and fearful emotions. From a biological perspective, we would consider if Andrew needed to be properly medicated. Antidepressants are commonly given to individuals who suffer from PTSD because they may offer some relief by the process of “altering serotonin levels, decreasing overactivation of the amygdala, and desensitizing the fear network” (Sue et al. 2014, p. 127). He had been given chlorpromazine to control his hallucinations, but it clearly did not eliminate his delusions. m Various forms of psychotherapy are also commonly noted in the treatment of PTSD, specifically cognitive based therapies (CBT). The three types of CBT that are commonly used when treating PTSD are Cognitive Processing Therapy, Prolonged Exposure Therapy, and Stress Inoculation Therapy. The goal of these forms of therapy is for the individual to openly confront their traumatic event, and their negative emotions surrounding it, in a safe and healthy environment. Group therapy and other alternative therapies have also proven to be helpful. Group therapy “encourages