There’s much you can learn through reading about different psychological disorders and concepts. The book “First Person Plural: My Life as a Multiple” by Cameron West specifically explains the life of Cameron West living with Dissociative Identity Disorder. I chose this book because of my uncertainty and intrigue about DID and the everyday struggles of multiples. Because this book is based on the actual accounts of Cameron West, I felt I got a better understanding of DID and could really get a feel for the thoughts and feelings of this man through his journey of dealing and coming to terms with his disorder. At the end of the book, I had gone through a whirlwind of emotions from sadness because of Cams past to have developed DID to utter joy that he learned how to accept it and lived a happier life.…
Introduction Evaluations in social work practices are needed to report the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of psychological intervention used in the field. The single subject research design (SSRD) is an empirical measurement of a client’s functioning over a time span. This SSRD tool will measure the client’s functioning before, during and after the intervention (Jordan & Franklin, 2011). This paper will describe the client, establish a baseline, track two targeted goals over 30 days and applied interventions, analyze the results of the study and address the studies limitations. Case summary Sharon is a 48-year-old Caucasian women.…
What is Dissociation/ What is DID? Dissociation, the term that underlies dissociative disorders such as DID, is used to describe the disconnection or lack of connection between things that are normally associated with each other (Dissociation FAQ’s).…
Dissociative Identity Disorder was one of the earliest studied psychological disorders (Early History). The case of Jeanne Fery is believed to be the earliest historical case of D.I.D. which can be confidently diagnosed. Both she and her exorcists wrote detailed accounts of her “exorcism” (History). The symptoms/characteristics of the disorder as documented by Fery and her “exorcists” exactly match those that are used to define D.I.D. today (D.I.D. Research). Fery’s exorcists described her identity as “fragmented”.…
Dissociative identity disorder (DID), at this time, meant that one did not know where they wanted to go in life or who they were exactly. DID is now defined as a state of mind in which the mind is split into neuropsychological modules where each complete personality system has…
Dissociative and personality disorders are common among the realm of patients who experience mental illness. These is often associated with a sense of being detached from oneself, perception of people and things being distorted, having a blurred sense of identity, having dysfunctional relationships, or being emotionally unstable. Unlike borderline personality disorder, however, dissociative identity disorder is quite rare. Dissociative identity disorder (DID), formally known as multiple personality disorder, is characterized as the presence of two or more personalities within one individual. Each individual identity is referred to as an alter.…
There are more than two, but not a lot of different forms of Dissociative Identity Sickness that will be discussed within this paper. In the 1980s, the idea of dissociative…
We will start with a description of the disorder from a diagnostic standpoint. Following from this, a psychological explanation will be provided as well as a biological description of what may be potential factors in causing dissociative identity disorder. With this basis explained, a review of relevant philosophical theories can be provided for understanding the traditional concept of personal identity and how it may be applied to explain multiple selves contained in one individual. Included in this will be a discussion on free will and theories on the fictive…
After so many sessions, the therapy cannot really be proclaimed as a successful treatment because the treatment was not finished due to the fact that the family and the therapist discovered that the father also has a DID and the family and the therapist were having a hard time with the father’s behavior as a result that the therapy has been stopped. Although the therapist had lost contact with the family, the therapist was able to present at least four identities in the course of the therapy which resulted that the case of Leigh was labeled as a Dissociative Identity Disorder and it was a great example of Kluft’s Etiological factor of biological capacity dissociate and it may also be learned response to…
Developmental Trauma Causes of Dissociative Identity Disorder are wide and conflicting but one popular theory that is generally accepted in the field of medicine and psychology is that DID is a result of severe trauma such as rape, abuse, etc that one has experienced in the past. Dissociation becomes a coping mechanism for people whose memories of certain incidents are so harrowing that their brains respond by temporarily removing themselves from the situation. This results in a person becoming unaware of the abuses of the outside world/real life, as they are so disconnected from the situation itself. However, the validity of this belief has been questioned time and time again over the course of the years by multiple research data. Proponents…
In this paper I will identify what dissociative identity disorder is, and evaluate a three peer-reviewed research studies in order to get better knowledge of dissociative disorder. Also, I will then conceptualize the disorder using the diathesis-stress model. The diathesis-stress model “views psychological disease as the result of the interaction between a person's predispositional vulnerability for a disorder and stress” (Ruddock, n.d.). Lastly, I will discuss current treatments that have shown to be the most effective for dissociative identity disorder.…
Part I: Applications of Classical Conditioning Treatment of Dissociative Identity Disorder The treatment of the dissociative identity disorder follows a consistent observance of psychological requirements. It is important to understand that therapists have the tendency to clearly understand the best practices regarding medication. Classical conditioning is one of the methods that can be used to ensure that dissociative identity disorder patients get their treatment. Dissociative identity disorder patients have the tendency to experience gaps in their memory Because the alters alternate in controlling the patient 's consciousness and behavior, the affected patient experiences long gaps in memory— gaps that far exceed typical episodes…
Introduction: The case study Dissociative Identity Disorder: Multiple Personality is a case study about a 38-year-old woman named Paula, who had a Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). In the case study, Dr. Harpin, Paula’s psychologist, discovered and treated Paula’s case of DID throughout many sessions. Paula was a divorced mother of two children, who experienced amnesia in her everyday life.…
Measuring fragmentation in dissociative identity disorder: the integration measure and relationship to switching and time in therapy. European Journal Of Psychotraumatology, 51-8. doi:10.3402/ejpt.v5.22250 Brand, B. L., Loewenstein, R. J., & Spiegel, D. (2014). Dispelling Myths About Dissociative Identity Disorder Treatment: An Empirically Based Approach. Psychiatry: Interpersonal & Biological Processes, 77(2), 169-189. doi:10.1521/psyc.2014.77.2.169 Multiple personality.…
The most commonly practiced treatment for the disorder is psychotherapy, though there are many different approaches to it. According to Dr. Steve Bressert, most therapists “take an individual modality (as opposed to family, group or couples therapy) and emphasize the integration of the various personality states into one, cohesive whole personality” (2016). Drug therapies are not effective for dissociative identity disorder, so it is much more difficult to treat then many other mental disorders. Finally according to Brand, Loewenstein and Spiegel: “Given the severe symptomatology and disability associated with DID, iatrogenic harm is far more likely to come from depriving DID patients of treatment that is consistent with expert consensus, treatment guidelines, and current research” (2014, p. 169). Thus, even though the treatments for the disorder are difficult to complete, it is ultimately better for the patient than if they simply do not seek treatment.…