Dissociative Identity Disorder

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Many years ago, any individual that appeared to host other “entities” or speak in different voices and act with different mannerisms would have been considered demonically possessed. In more recent years, it was determined in the mental health community that certain individuals actually experience fragmenting into various separate personalities. Each personality has its own distinguishable traits and purpose within the host individual. In this essay, we will explore the symptoms of this unique disorder, as well as the potential causes and treatments utilized to benefit the patient. The fascinating disorder formerly known as Multiple Personality Disorder is now called Dissociative Identity Disorder. It is indeed unusual and certainly the least diagnosed out of all of the dissociative disorders. This disorder is quite controversial as there are many professionals within the mental health field who question the validity of this disorder. Many years can actually pass between beginning of symptoms and actual diagnosis of the disorder. Per our textbook, “The diagnosis requires the presence of two or more distinct personalities, each with its own way of relating to the world and which alternate in taking control of a person’s behavior” (Lyons & Martin, 2011, p. 249). So, essentially, an individual is fragmented into many separate personalities, each functioning at any given time. When many of us think about this disorder, we think of the movies and related books for “Sybil” and “The Three Faces of Eve.” These stories told of two women who had struggled and eventually came to terms with having fragmented personalities. As a result of these stories, the general public received information about this rare disorder (Waiess, 2006, ... ... middle of paper ... ...er. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 35(4), 324-341. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.nu.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/1448231552?accountid=25320 Lyons, C. A., & Martin, B. (2011). Abnormal psychology: Clinical and scientific perspectives. (4th ed.). Redding, CA : BVT publishing, LLC. Piper, A., & Merskey, H. (2004). The persistence of folly: A critical examination of dissociative identity disorder. part I. the excesses of an improbable concept. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 49(9), 592-600. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.nu.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/222846787?accountid=25320 Waiess, E. A. (2006). TREATMENT OF DISSOCIATIVE IDENTITY DISORDER: "tortured child syndrome". Psychoanalytic Review, 93(3), 477-500. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.nu.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/195047556?accountid=25320

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