Multiple Personality Disorder - Diagnosis And Treatment
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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
User Comments
12 months ago
r.grover
someone very close and dear to me has this problem. He does not know it. he has been treated for bi-polar disorder. He is quite normal.
He has brought disaster upon his family on account of his distinctive behavior differing from his normal personality during certain time spans.
How do I help him?
5 months ago
Good morning,
I am an artist who has worked with wounded souls to try and find the path for healing. Over the last few years I have been working with a very special friend of mine to help her understand her past and how she can have a future. I finally got her to talk about having a future. At the age of 26, it was apparent her past made her think she had none.
Over the last few years we have been in constant and very interesting conversation. Of all nine voices inside I have spoken with seven on a very regular basis, and one when times are very intense. The "baby" doesn't speak but always listens to the words I send them.
As their friend I hold them tight and am there for whatever their needs are. I have turned to art an creative expressions to allow them a voice they can call their own, without judgement nor shame, to say what they want how they want. Recently their psychiatrist has begun to hear their words in a way that allows him to focus on real problems they want to talk about rather than those of a person who is searching for the key to their shadows. I have them write about their lives in such a way that they feel no guilt, can rage when they have a need and to illuminate my mind with the creativity they kept as their safety net. One such project was called "The Book of People", where the ten year old wrote about each sister she had, and made a picture that shows her visual of that sister. To make her feel good about what she did and to show her that her creativity was much more than just therapy I made a short film of her work. Its called "Storms". Now we are working on the third film in this new series. It is a series that I will eventually show to the world as a new way to find healing for those who may not be lucky enough to have the means to find a therapist.
The second film is called "lacey's Love Story". I asked her to write three fairy tales about her life and what she saw as her trials and her redemption. In these fairy tales her Dr. found more truths that he had opened up before and now he wants me to guide her into exploring more. This fairy tale tells about how she met and fell in love with her current husband, who, after we first met, I had to help him understand who his wife was and why. I am still in the background of their marriage but he makes sure we keep in touch because I am the only one who can hold her tight.
I have only shown these film to those in the medical and professional communities and now I am getting the word out so that others may find a possible new form of releasing and finding balance and peace. I write to you in hopes that you can help spread the word and maybe help another find their place in the sun. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.
"Storms": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlnXOr0puoo
"lacey's Love Story": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anjNjNYl_CQ
Thank you,
Dany Nieves
307 Idea Factory
Decatur, Georgia
404.735.1111