Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) Page Four

Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)
Page Four

Given the complicated nature of Julie's family history and current problems, what kind of help will she and others like her need?

A good way to think about this is to consider those essential things Julie missed in her traumatic and abusive childhood. Because Julie's parents were so abusive, she was unable to trust them with her fears, her pain, or even her joys. Julie was never given a safe space or a safe person in which to confide her real emotions. This is the starting point for effective therapy for anyone suffering the kind of severe abuses that lie at the root of most cases of DID.

Second, you will want the therapist to be a mature person with previous experience of successfully treating DID. This is crucial, because the symptoms of DID are so strange and some of the causes so deep that they call for a very capable psychotherapist. It takes great sensitivity, for example, to know how much of the long warded-off pain a person is ready to face at any given moment. And it takes skill to know how to help a person face the fact that his or her alters are really painful disowned parts of his or her self. This can only be done gradually, as the patient feels increasingly confident, safe and able to integrate each new portion of their personality into a new understanding and experience of his or her self.

Because of the complexity of DID and the necessity of going slowly and safely, individual counseling or psychotherapy is the most common and effective treatment for DID. Group counseling and very short-term approaches to treatment are too frightening and can actually be experienced as abusive by people who have already been deeply hurt by insensitive others. Effective psychotherapy will most likely take years to accomplish fully.

Ideally, the psychotherapist can help a person with DID work through the many conflicted spiritual attitudes and feelings that accompany this disorder. That needs to include feelings of resentment and questions like, "How could God allow this to happen?" as well as fears of trusting God and other distorted perceptions and beliefs about God. Because of the severity of the trauma it can take a long time to reach the point of feeling that God is good and trustable. Part of this acceptance usually comes with the recognition that in giving humanity free will, God had to allow the freedom to do horrible things as well as good. Another aspect of this is realizing that God does not promise to protect us from all suffering, but rather to go through it with us. As a counselor goes through the suffering the person with DID has endured, he is actually representing God's caring and willingness to suffer with them in their pain.

In Julie's treatment, her counselor listened carefully and patiently. He sensitively helped Julie face her years of hidden pain and the horrible abuse she suffered. He helped her face her hatred of her parents for abusing her so badly. He helped her work through her deep feelings of worthlessness and depression and her fear that no one could ever love her.

As Julie gradually came to grips with her painful, confusing inner world, her counselor helped Julie make sense of all the different parts of herself. He patiently explored why Julie had split off her various selves and how each part was essential to Julie's identity as a whole person.

When Julie faced her atheistic alter, her counselor neither minimized Julie's sense of shame for this unbelieving, angry part of herself, nor did he label this alter demonic. Rather, he provided a safe place to explore Julie's feelings of abandonment by God and anger toward God. In time she learned that all relationships involved a mixture of positive and negative feelings. Then, Julie and her counselor were able to examine how her hidden feelings of abandonment and anger that were originally experienced in relationship with her parents had become directed toward God and shut off into a separate atheistic alter.

Through his patience, compassion and sensitivity, Julie's counselor provided a safe relationship and an opportunity for Julie to learn to see herself as a loved child of God who now was strong enough to face her painful feelings and experiences without dissociating them off into separate selves. As a result of this accepting relationship and lengthy therapeutic work, Julie was eventually able to integrate her alter personalities into a unified, whole person.

Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) and Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD)? There is no difference. Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD) is the former name of the disorder now known as Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID).

Does DID really exist? The historical evidence of dissociation as well as the consistency of symptom presentation and childhood history of severe trauma leads most counselors to say yes, DID is a real, serious, painful and rare disorder.

Does DID happen to individuals who have experienced ritual satanic abuse? First of all, there is some possibility that ritual satanic abuse does not occur as frequently as has been believed in the past. If a person has suffered from any kind of abuse, DID is possible but not likely. Those who have experienced the tragedies of ritual satanic abuse (or any other kind of severe abuse) may, but will not necessarily, eventually develop DID symptoms.

Is there hope for individuals with DID? Yes. Through a supportive in-depth therapy, individuals with DID can learn to understand, accept, and integrate the various parts of themselves. They can also learn effective coping methods—other than dissociation—to handle the stress in their lives. The healing and transforming power of Christ is an essential part of Christian counseling for those with DID. Because so many people suffering from DID have histories of severe childhood abuse, learning to truly experience God's love and forgiveness can provide increased safety and a willingness to integrate those memories, feelings, and experiences that have been so marked by shame.

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Kimberly Gaines Eckert, M.A., is in the final stages of her doctoral studies in clinical psychology at Wheaton College. She is a clinical psychology intern at Pine Rest Christian Mental Heath Services in Michigan.

Todd D. Burnett, M.Div., has served as a pastor and is currently a hospital chaplain while enrolled in the doctoral program in clinical psychology at Wheaton College.

Mark R. McMinn, Ph.D., is Rech Professor of Psychology at Wheaton College where he teaches in the psychology Department and directs the Center for Church-Psychology Collaboration.

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