An Ethnographic Study of Former Dissociative Identity Disorder Patients

Abstract

Three therapists interviewed five of their former DID patients in a semistructured depth interview. Two respondents were Israeli, two were North American, and one was Dutch. Prior to therapy their sense of self had been vague at best and was described as an uncomfortable feeling of internal void. They all had at least rudimentary recollections of their childhood suffering. They were more likely to believe their memories of childhood abuse if they succeeded in experiencing the feelings connected with those images. Fantasy, spirituality, and religion played a role in helping them manage their existence. Their integration process was incremental, as they gradually embraced the disowned aspects and functions of the self. Dissociative and ego state processes were still present during the period of data collection. The results are discussed in terms of the convergence of borderline and dissociative symptomatology, the role of fantasy and spirituality in DID, therapeutic processes, and patterns of treatment outcome.

A Review of Published Research on Adult Dissociative Identity Disorder

“…Among the case studies, nine articles specified the method of diagnosis; the use of the DSM criteria was most common (Fishbain et al, 2001;Humphreys et al, 2005;Lin et al, 2007;Okugawa et al, 2005;Williams et al, 2003), and the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Dissociative Disorders (SCID-D) was also used (Kellett, 2005;Savitz et al, 2004;Yücel et al, 2000). Among the empirical studies, structured interviews such as the SCID-D and the Dissociative Disorders Interview Schedule were the most common methods of diagnosis (79%), followed by the DSM criteria (10%; Dorahy et al, 2002;Hermans et al, 2006;Irle et al, 2007;Lapointe et al, 2006;Somer and Nave, 2000;Steinberg et al, 2005;van der Hart et al, 2005), clinical diagnosis (9%; Coons and Bowman, 2001;Dell, 2002Dell, , 2006aDell, , 2006bLev-Wiesel, 2005;Pica et al, 2001), and unspecified/unclear methods (4%; Dougherty, 2002;Fetkewicz et al, 2000;Ross and Ellason, 2001). Only one study reported the use of hypnosis during treatment (Krakauer, 2009).…”

Advances in Dissociation Research and Practice in Israel

“…Pamphlets and articles on dissociative psychopathology are available for retrieval from Web sites for survivor support and advocacy (e.g., macom.org.il; voices.co.il; www.sahar.org.il); pharmaceutical companies (e.g., tevalife.co.il); and treatment centers (e.g., maytal.co.il; machoneitan.org.il). This surge in non-and semi-academic writing on severe dissociative disorders has also been accompanied by a plethora of professional writings on the subject published both locally, in Hebrew (e.g., Somer, 1989Somer, , 1994bSomer, , 1995d, and internationally (e.g., Somer & Nave, 2001;Somer, & Yishai, 1997).…”