Dissociative Identity Disorder

638 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Professional issues in counselling

Treatment A review by Brand, Lowenstein, and Spiegal (2014) a debate about whether or not contemporary treatment methods for dissociative identity disorder are effective or harmful. In general, they found that treatment can be highly effective and beneficial, but it must be done carefully. This treatment should be trauma-informed and phasic. An example of phasic would be stabilization, working through the trauma and memories, and reintegration. With dissociative identity disorder part of the phasic treatment may involve becoming actively aware of other identities, providing specific roles to each which caters to their strengths, and consolidating as many as possible (but not getting rid of all of them). The American Association for Marriage …show more content…

They specifically found 17 factors which influenced effective treatment, including pacing, structure, coping skills, hypnotherapy, grounding processes, self-disclosed insight, client-centeredness, modeling, and identifying and assigning alter roles. For example, grounding processes which participants spoke about included being able to listen to meditation tapes recorded by the therapist or even calling the therapists voicemail simply to hear their voice. Hearing the voice would remind them of a sense of calm and security which is provided during therapy sessions. The techniques echo the above conclusions as well, but this study also emphasized the importance of a therapist being human. This would involve modeling appropriate emotions, such as enthusiasm; sharing enough so that the client would recognize the empathy of the therapist; and even showing sincere emotions when they are moved, including the therapist even tearing up. These helped build a positive and supportive -- but professional -- relationship, and is further improved when there are clear boundaries provided. In essence, effective treatment will be trauma-informed, phasic, and structured with proper adjunctive methods tailored for the individual. Teaching individuals techniques for stress management and for coping with alters has proven an integral part of this as well. Finally, a therapist who specializes in dissociative identity disorder and who exercises empathy and genuine human care, builds a positive and supportive rapport, but sets professional boundaries is vital for the

Show More
Related

  • The Importance Of Attachment Theory And Attachment Theory

    726 Words  | 2 Pages

    I pay particular attention to enactments, which expose intra-psychic dynamics between the therapist and client, as opportunities for relational remodeling. Combining these IST and attachment, a client can reintegrate affective responses and relational needs through mutual recognition in the therapeutic relationship. Furthermore, both approaches delve into the subjective and embodied processes of both client and therapist, which allows me to integrate interventions like mindfulness, deep breathing, DBT skills, and other behavioral coping skills that work in conjunction with the relational processes to empower clients to stabilize, regulate, and develop new ways to relate interpersonally. The use of these interventions are particularly helpful when working with clients with severe and chronic mental illnesses as it creates a safe, relational holding space for clients to develop necessary coping skills, especially when the therapy is

    Read More

  • Exploring Dissociative Identity Disorder: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatments

    1561 Words  | 4 Pages

    Cognitive therapy, which involves changing dysfunctional thought patterns. Family therapy, which helps to educate the family about the disorder, recognize its presence as well as work through issues that have developed in the family because of dissociative identity disorder. And also Hypnotherapy which can be used in conjunction with psychotherapy and can help clients access repressed memories, control problematic behaviors, such as self-mutilation and eating disorders, and help fuse thier other personalities during the process. Some indications that therapy might be needed include sysmptoms like: memory loss, a sense of being detached from themselves and their emotions, distorted Perception, a blurred sense of identity, significant stress or problems in life, inability to cope well with emotional or professional stress, and mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors. DID requires a medical diagnosis, and treatment should always be conducted by professionals that specialize in dissociative identity disorder as it is a rare and challenging condition to treat. There are also contraindications onvolving the treatment of DID. Caution needs to be taken while treating people with DID with medications because any effects they may experience, good or bad, may

    Read More

  • Frankie And Alice Essay Topics

    921 Words  | 2 Pages

    There are few studies, experiments, or controlled research done on the treatment of dissociative identity disorder. The textbook states that “only 5 of 20 patients achieve a full integration” and “12 out of 54 patients had achieved integration 2 years after presenting for treatment” (Barlow & Durand, 2012, p. 203). The goal of treatment is to identify the triggers that cause the dissociation and “neutralize them” (Barlow & Durand, 2012, p. 203). The patient “must confront and relive” (Barlow & Durand, 2012, p. 203) the trauma and triggers in order to gain control of the situations. Hypnosis is commonly used to bring unconscious memories to the conscious. There is “no evidence that hypnosis is a necessary part of treatment” (Barlow & Durand, 2012, p. 203) but may be efficient because of the similarity between dissociation and the process of

    Read More

  • Dissociating the World: Dissociative Identity Disorder

    1225 Words  | 3 Pages

    Dissociative Identity Disorder Treatment & Management. (n.d.). Dissociative Identity Disorder Treatment & Management. Retrieved November 11, 2013, from http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/916186-treatment

    Read More

  • Identity Immigder: The Causes Of Dissociative Identity Disorder

    884 Words  | 2 Pages

    Dissociative identity disorder, a condition that has plagued and altered the minds of those who were diagnosed for many years, represents the condition in which an individual displays multiple personalities that overpower his or her behavior around others and even alone. Such personalities or identities can have staggering differences between them even being characterized by a disparate gender, race, or age. One of the sides of them can even be animal-like and display feral qualities. Also, the disorder severs the connection between the victim’s sense of identity, emotions, actions, and even memories from their own consciousness. The cause for this is known to be a very traumatic experience that the person had gone through previously and fails to cope with it, thus they dissociate themselves from the memory in order to keep their mental state in one piece. All these results from the disorder do not begin to tell of the rest of the horrors that gnaw away at the affected human.

    Read More

  • Strangely Ordinary People

    1097 Words  | 3 Pages

    The rapport and friendship built throughout this movie is vital to the success of the therapy exhibited here. This is a great example of Gestalt therapeutic approach and helps to identify most of the techniques incorporated. The techniques and ways of gently confronting but pushing a client all the way through are very beneficial to each viewer of this film.

    Read More

  • Dissociative Identity Disorder

    4458 Words  | 9 Pages

    Dissociative Identity Disorder, or DID, is defined as: “The result of a marvelously creative defense mechanism that a young child uses to cope with extremely overwhelming trauma” (Hawkins, 2003, p. 3). Ross describes DID in this way: “In its childhood onset forms, the disorder is an effective strategy for coping with a traumatic environment: It becomes dysfunctional because environmental circumstances have changed by adulthood” (1997, p, 62). What types of traumatic environments are we talking about here? Often children who form DID are involved in some sort of abuse. These types of abuses can be physical, sexual and even ritual. Such abuses are not meant for children to have to endure, however, the mind is able to deal in effective ways to allow the child to bear such intolerable environments. As one examines this subject, one finds that there are varied opinions on DID, however, it is important to understand the nature of DID, types of DID as well as DID symptoms and healing in adults.

    Read More

  • Psychodynamic Therapy Essay

    1588 Words  | 4 Pages

    The second stage in the psychodynamic therapy process is, the transference stage. In this stage the development of treatment is set and now it is the patient’s time to let their feelings out. The patient expresses those feelings, emotions, fears, and desires to the therapist without having to worry about censorship. The feelings and behavior of the patient become more pronounced and become a vital part of the treatment itself. During this stage the therapist could experience and better understand of the patient’s past and how it impacted their behavior in the

    Read More

  • Examples Of Theoretical Orientation

    1114 Words  | 3 Pages

    To explain, the client should not be inferior to the counselor; the environment should be two people discussing an issue and ways to make a difference. A therapist should occasionally share similar experiences; therefore, sessions should make clients feel comfortable. To add, the client should feel safe due to the positive atmosphere the therapist brings to the session. The goal is to finally give the client a chance to be heard, regularly people are muted and feel like they are insignificant to society. Similarly, to Person-centered therapy where communication with the client is unconditionally positive. The therapist needs to genuinely care about the client needs for them to fully express themselves successfully. Furthermore, clients should be encouraging to make their own choices which model how to identify and use power responsibly. Hence, this will help the client feel more confident in everyday life when making a meaningful

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Reality Therapy And Existential Therapy

    1720 Words  | 4 Pages

    Furthermore, my goal is to let client fix their problems on their own through insight and guidance from the therapist. I envision a successful therapeutic process being when a client follows their goals and achieves positive outcomes in their lives. I seek to gain a therapeutic process with my clients by building rapport, trust, and helping them gain insight. When my clients are stuck and need motivation, I plan to remind them about their goals and the positive things that will come with change. If family is important to a client, informing the client about their family and their happiness may help motivate them to continue to

    Read More

  • Mock Therapy Paper

    930 Words  | 2 Pages

    Although, this session ended with amazing results, I feel as though I need more practice with this type of therapy. I have to continue to practice on allowing the patient to come up with their own solutions. I found it hard not giving advice to my client, because I already knew the situation. However, in the end I found myself very proud, because even though this was not a real therapy session, but the client was able to find a real solution to her problem. This experience is one that teaches the therapist restraint, it allows one to step back and listen. It also gives the client the opportunity to reach a solution themselves without someone giving them the answer to their

    Read More

  • Dissociative Identity Disorder

    1290 Words  | 3 Pages

    My topic of choice for this research paper is Dissociative Identity Disorder or DID. This appellation is rather new; therefore, most are more familiar with the disorder's older, less technical name: Multiple Personality Disorder or MPD. When first presented with the task of selecting a topic on which to center this paper, I immediately dismissed Dissociative Identity Disorder (which for the sake of brevity will be referred to as DID for the remainder of this paper) as a viable topic due to the sheer scope of the disorder. However after an exhaustive examination of other prospective topics, I found myself back at my original choice. There are several reasons why I chose DID. The foremost of which is the widespread fascination of this disorder by many different types of people; most of whom otherwise have no interest in psychology or its associated fields. One would be hard pressed to find someone who hasn’t been captivated at one time or another by the extraordinary, all too well known symptoms of this disorder. This fascination… dare I say ‘allure’ to this disorder is exemplified by the myriad of motion pictures that have been produced based on cases, real or fictitious, of DID. Another reason for my choice is what I feel is the insufficiency of effective treatments for DID. Despite what is known about this disorder, (which is relatively a lot) there are only two chief treatments for DID; the first and most prevalent is psychotherapy; also known as ”talk therapy”, the second is medication. The third and final reason for my choice is my own enchantment with DID. I must admit that ever since I read about Sue Tinker, a woman who was diagnosed with over 200 different personalities. In writing this paper I hope to discover more about this disorder and perhaps be able to identify a few areas that I feel might require more research on the part of psychologists specializing in DID.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Dissociative Identity Disorder

    1794 Words  | 4 Pages

    Dissociative Identity Disorder is a person who experiences two or more distinct personalities that takes controls of the individual. The individual may or may not be aware of their alternate personalities. Each personality is completely different; they can have different likes and dislikes, and they can have different prescriptions. Many people who have this disorder have experienced severe childhood trauma. This disorder is a controversial topic around the world for many reasons. The controversial argument is many do not believe the disorder exists. It is argued that there are no physical evidences as to this disorder existing. Although this is not true, it is still a controversial topic today. Dissociative

    Read More

  • Dissociative Identity Disorder in the Secret Window

    1542 Words  | 4 Pages

    According to Barlow, Durand & Stewart (2012), Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is one of several dissociative disorders in which a person experiences involve detachment or depersonalization. They go on to explain that people with DID ha...

    Read More

  • Psychological Elements in “The Machinist”

    1803 Words  | 4 Pages

    Grohol, J. M. (n.d.). Psych Central: Dissociative Identity Disorder Treatment. Psych Central - Trusted mental health, depression, bipolar, ADHD and psychology information. Retrieved May 24, 2011, from http://psychcentral.com/disorders/sx18t.htm

    Read More

More about Dissociative Identity Disorder

Open Document