I had trouble getting treatment back home because there wasn't anyone in my region that had experience in treating DID. I said that that didn't matter to me, because I wasn't at all sure that I wanted to have the 'traditional' variety of treatment for that at any rate. I said that I'd be happy seeing someone who was willing to work with me and we could assess what helped / what didn't along the way.

The main struggle was with people not believing that there was such a thing as DID. So... I got to writing stuff for them. Telling them my thoughts on it and stuff... I had one p-doc who was really very good. Well... A couple of p-docs actually. They just talked to me... And I'd tell them about my week and difficulties I was having... And I'd start to tell them things that kept resurfacing as dreams and hypnogogic ruminations because I'd get attacks of that during the day. I still do. Helped to talk about it though. Helped to talk about some of the interpersonal stuff I was struggling with too. Helped to talk about the voices and to come to some kind of alliance with them... I'd like to keep working on that kind of stuff... It was interesting that they kind of lost interest in the debate regarding whether the disorder 'exists' or not. I meet criteria therefore of course it exists! It is more about... How to view it and how to view treatment of it...

If therapists believe the ONLY explanation is 'trauma of objectively sickening severity before the age of 7' then clients come to believe this to... And hence... Trauma will be 'remembered'. Therapists need to appreciate the effect that their interpretations / judgements / theories have on their clients... They shape their behaviour in confirmation bias (as scientists tend to at times). The result... Well... I don't think it is so helpful to clients...

But then on the other side of things punishing doesn't really help. Especially when the client doesn't have alternative ways of getting what they need. IMO that is what is wrong with Spanos' socio-cognitive model. It amounts to little more than punishing behaviours. Nobody likes to be punished and I wouldn't go back to a therapist who was only going to punish me. Legitimate alternatives need to be reinforced. One does need to talk about things... Ignoring alters / voices isn't likely to make them go away... Once there are other things that achieve the same function... Then they will cease. Or at the very least... They will be more manageable / understandable.