Multiple Personality Disorder
Diagnosis And Treatment
Most people with multiple personality disorder are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 40. By that time they have been seeking help for their problems for an average of seven years and have usually been hospitalized several times. In some cases this happens because in addition to having multiple personality disorder, those who suffer from it are often anxious or depressed. In other cases, the rapid mood swings that occur when personalities switch can appear to be symptoms of bipolar illness, more commonly called manic depression. Finally, the voices of the personalities a person with MPD may report hearing are interpreted as the auditory hallucinations of schizophrenia.
Without treatment, MPD doesn't disappear by itself, although the rate of personality switching does seem to slow down in middle age. According to a 1993 study of 640 MPD patients, the most common treatment for MPD is long term psychotherapy twice a week. During these sessions, the therapist must develop a trusting relationship with the core personality and each of the alters. Once that is established, the emotional issues of each personality regarding the original child abuse are addressed. The host and alters are encouraged to communicate with each other in order to integrate or come together. Hypnosis is often a useful tool to accomplish this goal. At the same time, the therapist helps the patient to acknowledge and accept the physical or sexual abuse he or she endured as a child and to learn new coping skills so that disassociation is no longer necessary. Usually this process takes place in the therapist's office.
About half of all people being treated for MPD require brief hospitalization, and only 5% are primarily or exclusively treated in psychiatric hospitals. According to the NIMH (National Institute of Mental Health) study, although sometimes mood altering medications such as tranquilizers or antidepressants are prescribed for MPD patients, they are often diagnosed as having anxiety or depression rather than the multiple personality disorder. The treatment of MPD lasts an average of four years.
Resources
Books
Cohen, Barry M., ed. Multiple Personality Disorder from the Inside Out. Baltimore: Sidran Press, 1991.
Putnam, Frank W. Diagnosis and Treatment of Multiple Personality Disorder. New York: Guilford Press, 1989.
Sizemore, Chris Costner. A Mind of My Own: The Woman Who was Known as Eve Tells the Story of Her Triumph Over Multiple Personality Disorder. New York: Morrow, 1989.
Weissberg, Michael P. The First Sin of Ross Michael Carlson: A Psychiatrist's Personal Account of Murder, Multiple Personality Disorder, and Modern Justice. New York: Delacorte Press, 1992.
Periodicals
Braun, Bennett G. "Multiple Personality Disorder: An Overview." The American Journal of Occupational Therapy 44, no. 11 (1990): 971-976.
Curtin, Sharon Lynne. "Recognizing Multiple Personality Disorder." Journal of Psychosocial Nursing 31, no. 2 (1993): 29-33.
Golden, Frederic. "Mental Illness: Probing the Chemistry of the Brain." Time 157 (January 2001).
Hyman, S.E. "The Genetics of Mental Illness: Implications for Practice." Bulletin of the World Health Organization 78 (April 2000): 455-463.
Kay Marie Porterfield
Additional topics
Science EncyclopediaScience & Philosophy: Molecular distillation to My station and its duties:Multiple Personality Disorder - History And Incidence, Causes Of Multiple Personality Disorder, Symptoms, Diagnosis And Treatment