| Revision as of 23:45, 20 February 2003 editMartinHarper (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Pending changes reviewers, Rollbackers24,927 editsm genders to gender identities← Previous edit | Revision as of 14:23, 23 February 2003 edit undoMartinHarper (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Pending changes reviewers, Rollbackers24,927 edits the new version is better - killing the old one. Also adding titles, and defn of "multiplicity"Next edit → | ||
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| In ], '''Dissociative Identity Disorder''' (DID) is the current name of the condition formerly listed in the ] as '''Multiple Personality Disorder''' and '''Multiple Personality Syndrome'''. | |||
| ''This article has been rewritten extensively: I have appended the old version to the article to the end of the rewrite, so that the two viewpoints can be integrated.'' | |||
| ⚫ | The primary criterion for this ] is the presence of two or more seperate selves within the same body, which may have very different ways of acting, thinking and speaking, and may be of different ], ] or ]s. | ||
| -------------------- | |||
| '''Multiplicity''' is often used to describe wider behaviours than DID - in other words, it includes the presence of seperate selves which are not part of a psychiatric disorder. In the widest sense it may include concepts such as ] and ]s. | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| == History of Multiplicity == | |||
| The existence of multiplicity is currently a topic of much debate within the psychological community. Reports of individuals who seemed to display more than one discrete self date back to the ], and some have speculated that cases of ']' described in earlier centuries were actually cases of multiplicity. 'Dual personality' was closely associated with spirit ]ship in the 19th and early ], as some believed that the different selves were actually spirits who had taken up residence in the ]'s body. Early ] attempted to attribute multiple personality to a variety of causes, including manifestation of unconscious desires, head injuries, and the oppression of women. | The existence of multiplicity is currently a topic of much debate within the psychological community. Reports of individuals who seemed to display more than one discrete self date back to the ], and some have speculated that cases of ']' described in earlier centuries were actually cases of multiplicity. 'Dual personality' was closely associated with spirit ]ship in the 19th and early ], as some believed that the different selves were actually spirits who had taken up residence in the ]'s body. Early ] attempted to attribute multiple personality to a variety of causes, including manifestation of unconscious desires, head injuries, and the oppression of women. | ||
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| Wilbur later went on to specialize in treating multiples, continuing to enforce her view that all multiples had a history of severe ] in childhood and could not live functionally without recovering their traumatic memories and becoming integrated. She believed that it was routine for multiples to lack a communal memory and to be unable to remember things done by other selves. The diagnosis Multiple Personality Disorder was added to the third edition of the ], and several popular, often highly embellished and fictionalized case histories of multiples were published throughout the 1980s, all after the model of 'Sybil.' | Wilbur later went on to specialize in treating multiples, continuing to enforce her view that all multiples had a history of severe ] in childhood and could not live functionally without recovering their traumatic memories and becoming integrated. She believed that it was routine for multiples to lack a communal memory and to be unable to remember things done by other selves. The diagnosis Multiple Personality Disorder was added to the third edition of the ], and several popular, often highly embellished and fictionalized case histories of multiples were published throughout the 1980s, all after the model of 'Sybil.' | ||
| == A real condition? == | |||
| The diagnosis, which had always been a subject of much debate, became | The diagnosis, which had always been a subject of much debate, became | ||
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| Pavilion (awareness taskforce for functional multiplicity): http://www.tanuki.cx/pavilion | Pavilion (awareness taskforce for functional multiplicity): http://www.tanuki.cx/pavilion | ||
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| '''Dissociative Identity Disorder''' (DID) is a ] diagnosis that is among the more contentious in the field. It is also known informally as '''multiple personality disorder''' (MPD). According to advocates of DID, the disorder consists of the development of two or more distinct personalities in the person so afflicted. The personalities may have separate names, attitudes, knowledge bases and even separate age, ethnic and gender identities. Depending on the severity of the condition, one personality may not recall incidents that happened when another personality was predominant. Generally there is thought to be a "primary" personality, with others being less frequent in appearance and/or less well-developed. | |||
| The existence of DID is questioned by many doctors and scientists. Regardless of whether "Dissociative identity disorder" is a real phenomenon, the phenomenon of belief in dissociative identity disorder is real, and worth studying. | |||
| MPD or DID is most commonly diagnosed in people who are, typically in ], found to be the victims of severe repeated trauma (usually ]) very early in life. Whether this abuse (often claimed to be ritualistic, sometimes ]) actually happened in the majority of cases or whether ] were induced by the therapist is subject of much debate. | |||
| DID therapists believe that in an effort to shield themselves from the trauma, patients have effectively split their mind into two parts -- the person who was abused, and the rest of their self, who was dissociated from the traumatic event and protected from its effect. Over time, and with repeated traumas they become adept at masking their true self. In effect they become human chameleons in an attempt to protect themselves from anything that might harm their ] further, and later, to keep anyone from discovering their secret. Presumably, the victims will suffer from various general symptoms (such as depressions, sleeplessness and headaches) in later life. The therapist then has to uncover the split personalities and the suppressed memories in order to restore balance. | |||
| == Is Dissociative identity disorder a real condition? == | |||
| However, many professionals in clinical psychology question whether the disorder is actually a valid one; whether the disorder is natural or induced by suggestion, particularly under ]; and whether the disorder is being overdiagnosed or underdiagnosed by the profession. | |||
| One reason for this question is the 1973 book '']'' about a victim of MPD/DID, which was made into a movie in 1976. This was the first time that MPD/DID was brought into the public eye. The movie was a widely acclaimed critical success, and coincidentally, or perhaps as a consequence, the number of diagnosed cases of MPD skyrocketed in the next few decades. | |||
| A classic case of a questionable diagnosis was the ] case in the US. Kenneth Bianchi, an accused ] who allegedly strangled multiple women in ], was diagnosed at his court-ordered psychiatric evaluation as having MPD. However, later investigation showed that Bianchi's behavior was not in fact consistent with the MPD diagnosis. This is commonly attributed to the joint effects of suggestion ('']'' in clinical terms) and deliberate deception from Bianchi ('']''). | |||
| Even the name of the disorder is contentious. In the ''Diagnostic and Statistical Manual,'' version IV, usually referred to as the (]), the disorder is listed as Dissociative Identity Disorder; however, the ] continues to list it as Multiple Personality Disorder. | |||
| The new label 'Dissociative Identity Disorder' was chosen because it is more broad-based than MPD, and also includes patients who do not have a large or developed set of alternate 'personalities'. Critics claim that the new label was chosen because MPD had received large amounts of negative media attention. | |||
| == References and external links == | |||
| 1996 paper covering debate: http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~n9140024/CampbellPM.html | |||
Revision as of 14:23, 23 February 2003
In psychiatry, Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is the current name of the condition formerly listed in the DSM as Multiple Personality Disorder and Multiple Personality Syndrome.
The primary criterion for this diagnosis is the presence of two or more seperate selves within the same body, which may have very different ways of acting, thinking and speaking, and may be of different gender identities, ethnicities or sexual orientations.
Multiplicity is often used to describe wider behaviours than DID - in other words, it includes the presence of seperate selves which are not part of a psychiatric disorder. In the widest sense it may include concepts such as demonic possession and two-spirits.
History of Multiplicity
The existence of multiplicity is currently a topic of much debate within the psychological community. Reports of individuals who seemed to display more than one discrete self date back to the 19th century, and some have speculated that cases of 'possession' described in earlier centuries were actually cases of multiplicity. 'Dual personality' was closely associated with spirit mediumship in the 19th and early 20th centuries, as some believed that the different selves were actually spirits who had taken up residence in the medium's body. Early psychoanalysts attempted to attribute multiple personality to a variety of causes, including manifestation of unconscious desires, head injuries, and the oppression of women.
Psychoanalyst Morton Prince, who later published a book on his experiences in treating Sally Beauchamp, a multiple client, believed that multiplicity was due to the disintegration of an original, unified personality into seperate pieces. He translated 'desaggregation,' a word coined by the French analyst Pierre Janet, as 'dissociation,' and used it to refer to the process by which the original personality was supposed to break apart. Although he did not attempt to theorize on a universal cause for dissociation, he believed that multiplicity needed to be cured by integrating all the selves into the 'original' personality.
Several popular accounts of multiplicity, most fictionalized to some degree, were published during the first half of the 20th century, the most famous being The Three Faces of Eve by Corbett Thigpen and Harvey Cleckley. Thigpen claimed to have integrated all the selves of 'Eve,' a multiple client, and the book was so popular it was later made into a movie. Several decades after the book's publication, the real 'Eve,' Chris Costner-Sizemore, came forward to report that much of the book was a fabrication by Thigpen; although she really was multiple, by her own account, she had never actually integrated.
The actual diagnosis of 'Multiple Personality Disorder' did not exist until the 1970s, when Sybil, the most famous modern account of multiplicity, was published. 'Sybil,' whose real name was Shirley Mason, was a patient of Freudian analyst Cornelia Wilbur. Wilbur treated Mason for over a decade and believed that her client's multiplicity had been caused by severe sexual abuse in childhood, which had caused her original personality to 'split off' seperate selves, each of whom performed the function of enduring abuse for her. In Wilbur's view, all multiples consisted of an original, depleted self and the many personalities who had dissociated from it as a result of childhood trauma. In order to restore the patient's original self, it was necessary to remember all the childhood traumas which had caused the 'splits,' and then integrate all the personalities; only then could the patient live a full and productive life.
Wilbur later went on to specialize in treating multiples, continuing to enforce her view that all multiples had a history of severe trauma in childhood and could not live functionally without recovering their traumatic memories and becoming integrated. She believed that it was routine for multiples to lack a communal memory and to be unable to remember things done by other selves. The diagnosis Multiple Personality Disorder was added to the third edition of the DSM, and several popular, often highly embellished and fictionalized case histories of multiples were published throughout the 1980s, all after the model of 'Sybil.'
A real condition?
The diagnosis, which had always been a subject of much debate, became highly controversial in the mid-1990s. After approximately a decade of popularity among therapists and talk-show hosts, the recovered memory movement fell into disrepute. Clients began to report in increasing numbers that they had been misdiagnosed with multiple personalities, and led to believe that they had experienced traumas in childhood which had never actually occurred, including satanic ritual abuse. Many of the patients who remained in therapy continued to get worse instead of better, which led many psychologists to conclude that multiplicity was usually or always iatrogenically induced through a combination of social and therapeutic influences. The diagnosis MPD was changed to Dissociative Identity Disorder in the fourth edition of the DSM.
If Sybil-type MPD/DID is rare or iatrogenically induced, multiplicity -per se- -- the existence of more than one self in a body-- is still a phenomenon worth studying. With the advent of the Internet, increasing numbers of self-acknowledged multiples who have never been diagnosed or in therapy have come forward to report that they are living functionally without need of integration. Not all have a history of childhood sexual abuse; many report not only having clear memories of their childhood, but having been multiple for as long as they could remember. Since they do not suffer from severe depression, amnesia, or dangerous behavior, such multiples have rarely come to the attention of therapists, having had no need for their intervention.
In addition, many healthy multiples have called into question the concept of integration of selves. Several people who knew Shirley Mason reported that despite the statements made in 'Sybil,' she, like Eve, remained multiple even after her supposed integration. Some believe that true integration is impossible, or at least impractical, for genuine multiples. It remains to be seen whether the scandals and lawsuits of the 90's will prevent serious research from being done on functional self-identified multiples, or from non-Wilburian paradigms of multiplicity being studied and considered.
Because such multiples do not experience their condition as disordered or sick in any way, some have proposed that the diagnosis of DID be removed from the DSM entirely, or revised to classify multiples who have difficulty communicating and sharing memories and/or wish to integrate.
References and external links
1996 paper covering debate: http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~n9140024/CampbellPM.html
Astraea's Web- Multiplicity Resources and Controversy (non-disordered multiplicity resource. Covers the Sybil controversy): http://www.astraeasweb.net/plural
The Layman's Guide to Multiplicity (non-disordered multiplicity resource, written and edited by multiples): http://www.kitsune.cx/blackbirds/layman
Pavilion (awareness taskforce for functional multiplicity): http://www.tanuki.cx/pavilion