yes the UK is a bit different than the USA, you can see the diagnostics american's must meet in order for treatment providers here to diagnose someone with DID in the link at the bottom of my post, this information is from the DSM 5. some locations outside the USA also use this standard others use the IDC standards. your own treatment providers can tell you which standard of diagnostics they use.

rules on alters ... here in america some have names so do not. as far as I know the only rule on alters here on psych central is that everyone (alters and the one they reside with in) all use the same account. i have noticed some people and their alters list the name of the one posting before or after the main part of their post so that other members know who is writing that post.

my own alters though they had their own names also answered to the body name. by the time my treatment provider told me about this website I was at integration level of healing. all my alters have since been integrated and now we are all one whole person again.

my own dissociative type alters were not imaginary friends, but did have a few imaginary friend types that my treatment providers called psychosis and medication induced alters.

welcome to psych central.