Information on Dissociative Identity Disorder or MPD

copied with permission

http://ritualabuse.us/research/did/

From the DSM-IV-TR (American Psychological Association (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed. text revision).Washington, D. C .)

DID is defined in the DSM-IV-TR as the presence of two or more personality states or distinct identities that repeatedly take control of one’s behavior. The patient has an inability to recall personal information. The extent of this lack of recall is too great to be explained by normal forgetfulness. The disorder cannot be due to the direct physical effects of a general medical condition or substance.

DID entails a failure to integrate certain aspects of memory, consciousness and identity. Patients experience frequent gaps in their memory for their personal history, past and present. Patients with DID report having severe physical and sexual abuse, especially during childhood. There is controversy around these reports, because childhood memories may be exposed to distortion and some patients with DID are highly hypnotizable and vulnerable to suggestive influences. But, the reports of patients with DID are often validated by objective evidence. People that are responsible for acts of sexual and physical abuse may be prone to distorting or denying their behavior.

Physical evidence may include variations in physiological functions in different identity states, including differences in vision, levels of pain tolerance, symptoms of asthma, the response of blood glucose to insulin and sensitivity to allergens. Other physical findings may include scars from physical abuse or self-inflicted injuries, headaches or migraines, asthma and irritable bowel syndrome.

DID is found in a variety of cultures around the world. It is diagnosed three to nine times more often in adult females than males. Females average 15 or more identities, males eight identities. The sharp rise in the reported cases of DID in the U.S. may be due the greater awareness of DID’s diagnosis, which has caused an increased identification of those that were previously undiagnosed. Others believe it has been overdiagnosed in those that are highly suggestible.

The average time period from DID’s first presentation of symptoms to its diagnosis is six to seven years. DID may become less manifest as patients reach past their late 40’s, but it can reemerge during stress, trauma or substance abuse. It is suggested in several studies that DID is more likely to occur with first-degree biological relatives of people that already have DID, than in the regular population.

http://ritualabuse.us/research/did/the-etymological-antecedents-of-and-scientific-evidence-for-the-existence-of-dissociative-identity-disorder/

http://ritualabuse.us/research/did/the-diagnosis-and-assessment-of-dissociative-identity-disorder/

An examination of the diagnostic validity of dissociative identity disorder. Gleaves DH, May MC, Cardeña E Clin Psychol Rev. 2001 Jun;21(4):577-608.
We review the empirical evidence for the validity of the Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) diagnosis, the vast majority of which has come from research conducted within the last 10 years. After reviewing three different guidelines to establish diagnostic validity, we conclude that considerable converging evidence supports the inclusion of DID in the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders. For instance, DID appears to meet all of the guidelines for inclusion and none of the exclusion guidelines; proposed by Blashfield et al.[Comprehensive Psychiatry 31 (1990) 15-19], and it is one of the few disorders currently supported by taxometric research. However, we also discuss possible problems with the current diagnostic criteria and offer recommendations, based on recent research, for possible revisions to these criteria. “In conclusion, despite its long and controversial past, there has been a wealth of research accumulate over the past 10 to 15 years on the DID diagnosis. This research seems to establish the validity of the DID diagnosis.”

http://leadershipcouncil.org/docs/gleaves2001.pdf
pubmed abstract http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11413868

D. Gleaves July, 1996 “The sociocognitive model of dissociative identity disorder: a reexamination of the evidence” Psychological Bulletin Volume 120, issue 1, pages 42-59 “No reason exists to doubt the connection between DID and childhood trauma.”

C. Ross, G. Norton, G. Fraser (1989) “Evidence against the iatrogenesis of multiple personality disorder “Dissociation” volume 2, issue 2, pages 61-65, https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/dspace/bitstream/1794/1424/1/Diss_2_2_2_OCR.pdf “Exposure to hypnosis does not appear to influence the phenomenology of MPD(DID)….There is no evidence derived from the study of clinical MPD that the disorder is artifactual. In fact there is not one case of MPD created artifactually by a specialist in dissociation reported in the literature. Given the absence of positive evidence for the artifactual nature of clinical MPD, the data in the present study provide compelling evidence that MPD is a genuine disorder with a consistent set of core features.”

United States of Tara – Learn More About D.I.D. – Showtime supports the awareness for Dissociative Identity Disorder with Richard P. Kluft MDhttp://www.sho.com/site/video/brightcove/series/title.do?bcpid=1847322218&bclid=5253538001&bctid=6803420001

Forensic Aspects of Dissociative Identity Disorder – Google books

The book “Forensic aspects of dissociative identity disorder” looks at the role of crime in the lives of people that suffer from Dissociative Identity Disorder. It is a collection of essays written by several international researchers. It explores the legal, moral, ethical and clinical questions that psychotherapists and other professionals face while working with those suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder. Authors that have contributed to the book come from the fields of psychotherapy, counseling, psychology, medicine, law, police, psychoanalysis and social work. Chapters include discussions on ritual abuse, dissociative identity disorder, mind control, extreme abuse, survivor accounts and criminal convictions.

http://www.karnacbooks.com/product.php?PID=25876

http://books.google.com/books?id=upHtL9lual0C&printsec=frontcover#PPP1,M1

Trauma And Dissociation in a Cross-cultural Perspective: Not Just a North American Phenomenon (Hardcover) by Jr. George F. Rhoades (Editor), Vedat Sar (Editor) Routledge (2006) ISBN-13: 978-0789034076
An international look at the similarities and differences of long-lasting trauma – Trauma and Dissociation in a Cross-Cultural Perspective examines the psychological, sociological, political, economic, and cultural aspects of trauma and its consequences on people around the world. Dispelling the myth that trauma-related dissociative disorders are a North American phenomenon, this unique book travels through more than a dozen countries to analyze the effects of long-lasting traumatization-both natural and man-made-on adults and children.
http://www.amazon.com/Trauma-Dissociation-Cross-cultural-Perspective-Phenomenon/dp/0789034077