In my experience as a client of several therapists over a fifteen-year period, I have found that knowledge of resources and issues has varied greatly. My current therapist is extremely open-minded, and we both take an active role in finding and exploring literature and information about issues and strategies which may be beneficial in my treatment. To that end, I would like to offer some of the resources we have found helpful.
Therapy That Works
This is the story of my search to find help in therapy. I am now totally convinced of the value of dialectical behavior therapy for anyone. It is certainly not the answer to every problem; but the skills it builds are common-sense, life-enhancing skills which anyone can use.
Building Rapport with Your Clients
These are my suggestions, and they come from my experiences with several therapists. These ideas reflect many things which were done right and a few which could have been done better.
Post-Traumatic Therapy
This is an excellent introduction for therapists for whom working with trauma survivors is new. Frank Ochberg describes three principles of post-traumatic therapy and provides four categories of techniques which he uses. Examples are provided.
Dissociative Identity Disorder/Multiple Personality Disorder
In this article Dr. Paul McHugh proposes that DID/MPD is a disorder which therapists create by taking advantage of the suggestability of clients. He compares it to the "discovery" of hystero-epilepsy in the 19th century. While I don't doubt that his assertions are in some ways true, I also believe that there are situations which do not fit into his mold; and I encourage anyone reading this material to consider a person's individual circumstances. This is especially true for survivors of trauma. No therapist created my "disorder," and although it may have at one time been aggravated by my exposure to the symptoms of others I do not believe it should be dismissed because of this. The most valid point which Dr. McHugh makes--and the reason I have included a link to this article--is that therapists should focus not on the symptoms but on enabling the person to cope with the trauma. This approach has helped me tremendously.
The Spectrum of Dissociative Disorders
Joan Turkus explains the different types and severities of dissociative disorders and what treatments are appropriate. I am personally not in favor of the use of hypnosis, and I believe that there are other ways to do "memory work" in therapy in which the risk of possible abuse of the client's suggestability is less.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing
Dr. Leonard Holmes discusses the history of EMDR and research on its effectiveness. He also includes links to sources of further information.
MPD and Dissociative Disorders
This article is somewhat dated but is generally a good resource. An introduction to the various dissociative disorders is provided and followed by a brief explanation of diagnosis and treatment issues.
Dissociative Disorders: Electronic Chapter
Lawrence E. Frisch introduces students of psychiatric nursing to the dissociative disorders and the controversy surrounding DID.
Guidelines for Treatment
These come from the International Society for the Study of Dissociation. Topics covered include diagnosis, treatment planning, therapeutic techniques, boundaries, and more.
Building a Therapeutic Partnership Between Doctor and Patient
This article is written by a person with bipolar disorder and provides therapists with some perspective from the client's point of view. The author addresses the importance of patient education and other issues.
Causes of DID
An expert at the Mental Health Info Source discusses proposed causes of DID and speculation about other disorders which may be correlated with it.
Diagnosing the Voices
An expert from the Mental Health Info Source responds to questions about hearing voices, bipolar disorder, DID, and antipsychotics.
Voices and Dissociation
An expert from the Mental Health Info Source discusses the differences between DID and schizophrenia with respect to hearing voices and overall clinical picture.
Understanding Dissociative Disorders Through Dissociative Signs and Symptoms
Cecilia Pearson provides an overview of several types of dissociative symptoms.
Medications for Dissociative Identity Disorder
An expert from the Mental Health Info Source discusses studies regarding the use of medications for treatment of dissociative disorders. My own experience is that medications can ease some symptoms, such as mood swings and anxiety, which interfere with my work in therapy; however, therapy is more appropriate for dealing with issues which affect the long-term healing process.
Living With Your Selves: A Survival Manual for People With Multiple Personality Disorder
This is an excellent little book written by someone with DID. It has a lot of information about what DID/MPD is and how to get your system working together, as well as some listings of additional resources in the back.
Multiple Personality Disorder from the Inside Out
This book is written by a therapist about his work with patients who have MPD. He talks about how he learned about MPD and how he works with his patients.
The Search for Significance (Workbook Included)
I found this very helpful in working through a lot of my issues regarding self-worth. It is definitely not a sit and read kind of book, and working through it takes a lot of time and soul-searching. It is worth it.
Self-Presentation: Impression Management and Interpersonal Behavior
This book helped me to understand how a person controls what aspects of himself he allows others to see and the effects of this process.
Love Is a Choice: Recovery for Codependent Relationships
This book touches on the various types of abuse which are often unrecognized or ignored and discusses how the experience of growing up in an abusive or dysfunctional family affects both partners in a relationship. I'm still working through this one.
Love Is a Choice Workbook (Minirth-Meier Clinic Series)
I haven't looked at this, but I saw that it was available so have included it here since I've included the regular book. If you've worked with this particular book and would like to comment on it, please The Courage to Heal: A Guide for Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse
This is a very popular book recommended by many professionals and survivors alike. I am just starting it and am finding it is excellent. You can also buy the audio version.
The Courage to Heal Workbook: For Women and Men Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse
I've had a good look at this, and it is excellent. It is usable with or without the regular book. The exercises are great but it can take a while to work through them depending on how much exposure to your memories you want or can tolerate.
Your Inner Child of the Past
This is the original work on the inner child concept. I was very hesitant to get into this book because I thought that the concept conflicted with my faith. After I started reading it, I realized that there is nothing bad about this concept. The inner child does not replace God but represents a lot of old messages and values I never let go. In the case of my DID, I was dealing with not one but many inner children, and reading this book helped me to understand them much better and to begin to work with them so that my life became much easier.
Personality and Its Disorders: A Biosocial Learning Approach
This was the text for one of my psychology classes. I found it very interesting and enlightening regarding the concept of personality and how it is shaped and how it becomes "disordered".
The Highly Sensitive Person: How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms You
This is a book I am just starting. I am finding it hard to put down. It addresses not only how to cope as a person who is very sensitive to life's experiences but also how that sensitivity may develop. It is one of the most validating things I have read.
If you have additional resources you'd like to share, please drop me a line. I am always open to ideas which might be useful on this page.