Abstract

In this paper an attempt was made to offer a perspective of the multiple personality disorder (MPD) phenomenon based on current clinical experience. We represent clinical psychiatry and clinical psychology and are active in the treatment and research of over 60 patients manifesting MPD. We take the view that the mind is polypsychic with a multitude of psychological systems and processes existing in conjunction with one another; in the normal as well as in the abnormal. In the healthy individual, the unity of self is maintained by integrative and/or associative mechanisms. In the MPD individual, ego states are dissociated or fragmented and poorly coordinated due to the effects of unusual stress on the unity of the sense of self. The "alters" appear as defensive strategies. Implications for personality theory are considered.