Dissociative Identity Disorder: Trauma or Fantasy?

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DID can make it difficult to provide treatment options for those with the disorder. Unfortunately, what constitutes the best treatment options for DID are not agreed upon either. Until the psychological community comes to some agreement on the subject, it is up to the individual clinician to decide if their patients truly have DID and to utilize the type of treatment that they deem best.

Overcoming the myths regarding DID that are perpetuated in the media requires an understanding of the basic symptoms. The hallmark symptom of DID is the presence of alters. For this diagnosis, the DSM-5 requires that there be two or more distinct personality states that involves a disruption in the sense of self. There are also changes in affect, behavior, memory, cognition, and other functioning (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). These alters may appear in groups of two or three, but in some instances have emerged in groups of 13 or 14 (Murray, 2001). Other reports state that there have ...

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86% of the patients had personalities who claimed to know about all of the alters (Murray, 2001). It would seem that the dominant personality is the one frequently left in the dark, which is likely due to the alters' attempts to protect the dominant personality. Understanding these patterns is essential to being able to identify and treat patients with dissociative identity disorder.

Another symptom required for a diagnosis, according to the DSM-5 (American Psychiatric Association, 2013) is autobiographical amnesia. This is defined as continuous gaps in the recall of everyday tasks, personal information, and traumatic events. This forgetfulness extends beyond the bounds of ordinary ...

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