Talk Therapy and Alters

1. DID talk therapy is not about integrating
2. DID is not caused by having a split personality
3. most people do not want integration as a goal, they want communication and cooperation of all the alters. SOME people want integration. It is not the goal. It does not always work. Many integrations fail.

go see discussingdissociation.com for facts

Come, now. That's not all you did. You also called people suffering in a different way from you "dramatic" and their manifestation of DID "nonsense." It's unreasonable to say something inflammatory and then insist nobody respond to what you said, especially if it touches them personally. This isn't a hot button issue for you alone.

you could not be further from the truth. you might want to do a little more research before posting things like this
if all i had was "split personalities" then i have well over 2000....

Clearly there is no universally accepted answer to these questions.

Thank you for this.

I found an article, and it describes me very well..
Learning about all these parts of me in therapy is very much like integration.

But I can tell you that I was better off before therapy when I wasn't aware of all the parts. Its been a very scary experience and has mentally worn me down. I never planned the therapy as I didnt know I had this for many years. it just happened.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sour...omeFlCF8OOVp6-

I do not know much about the website you've given to me, however, I know a psychological magazine which has fair share of accurate information which is posted quite often. The magazine is called Psychology Today.


Here is the link to the website.

"The primary treatment for DID is long-term psychotherapy with the goal of deconstructing the different personalities and uniting them into one. Other treatments include cognitive and creative therapies. Although there are no medications that specifically treat this disorder, antidepressants, anti-anxiety drugs or tranquilizers may be prescribed to help control the mental health symptoms associated with it. With proper treatment, many people who are impaired by DID experience improvement in their ability to function in their occupational and personal lives. "

"DID is a disorder characterized by identity fragmentation rather than a proliferation of separate personalities. The disturbance is not due to the direct psychological effects of a substance or of a general medical condition. DID was called multiple personality disorder until 1994, when the name was changed to reflect a better understanding of the condition—namely, that it is characterized by a fragmentation, or splintering, of identity rather than by a proliferation, or growth, of separate identities."

And if the patient does not want to be "integrated"?

Cant Explain,
If you ever want info on DID, pm me. My best friend is an expert on it, my husband is a trauma therapist, and I have dozens and dozens of resources. I wont be coming back to this thread. Thanks for having the curiousity to ask politely about these issues, I appreciate it.

funny i never considered myself impaired
i think quoting some obscure article without having experienced it oneself and expecting others to just agree is unwise.
and as for "deconstructing" us?? THAT makes me angry....

You're right. There's nothing more to be learned here.

This book is superb, I bought a copy recently and am getting so much out of it. Thanks for posting about it!

i never considered myself impaired either because of my DID. if anything, it has been the one thing that has enabled me to adapt and function in this world so that no one really knew of the extent of the pain i kept hidden inside or the depths of the abuse i suffered. that is the very nature of DID, it is a very covert and hidden coping mechanism meant to help the survivor function in the everyday world without being compromised. many people would be none the wiser if they met a person who was considered DID. most people with DID do not present in the way that sensationalist hollywood or even some of the trendy youtube videos portray. most of my family and friends have no clue about my alters. similar to others who i have met who are considered DID, many of us are high functioning members of society, intelligent and with university degrees, maintaining full time employment, raising families, some even becoming therapists, and doing many of the same things that most 'normal' humans do day in and day out. we just have a different way, a very unique and creative way, of relating to both our inner world and the outer world.

not everyone who identifies as DID wants to be 'united into one' and i believe it's ignorant of those in the psych world (and Psychology Today) who uphold and promote this archaic and possibly harmful belief that this is a preferred end goal of healing the early childhood traumas that resulted in the client's DID.

yes!! thank you!!!!

Getting back to the original topic of this thread, my personal goals for my own therapy in relation to my DID are these:

- become aware of and get to know the various alters in my system
- work on developing and sustaining coconsciousness (I personally want all of my alters to become aware of what is going on, so there is no more blacking out)
- address the traumatic memories so they no longer "hijack" me (trigger a switch into another alter)

I don't have a goal to integrate at this point. I like having my others around and life would be completely different without them.

I am sorry if I caused pain to anyone. I just wanted to join the discussion. I guess I upset you all.

i can't speak for everyone who experiences DID, but there is a lot of inaccurate information and stigma that goes along with being DID or diagnosed with it that continues to happen in this day and age. Also, even though it is a valid diagnosis in the DSM, there are plenty of PDOCs and psychologists who don't even believe it is valid or exist. then there are the inaccurate portrayals of DID in the movies and TV and this is the most exposure that much of society will ever encounter in regards to what DID is. it's the misinformation that bothers me the most and it definilty bothers me when the professionals in the psych community can't even get it correct, because they are the ones who are the supposed 'experts' on it, who we seek out to help us clients come to terms with it and learn how best to adapt our lives with it.

i encourage you to continue with the discussion here because, with out the conversations like this, the misinformation will continue to be passed along in our society.