Posted by Dinah on May 28, 2003, at 14:44:51
In reply to DID diagnosis after other diagnoses., posted by deirdrehbrt on May 27, 2003, at 21:25:04
Hi Deirdre,
I think Pfinstegg's therapist has a wonderful explanation of the dissociative process. I've printed it out to show my therapist.
From all I've read I think Judy is probably right about medications. I think therapy is the main treatment of dissociative disorders. But that doesn't mean you won't continue to take any medications that you need for any other co-existing problems you might have, anxiety, depression, etc.
As far as the direction of therapy. Most therapists seem to follow a post-traumatic stress disorder type model. A lot seem to favor aiming for integration, while others feel that cooperation is sufficient. I imagine the first priority would be to reduce the number of problems that the dissociation causes, such as losing time. I've read a lot about it because, while I don't meet the criteria for DID, I am somewhere on the dissociative spectrum.
I can recommend a couple of books that are pretty good at explaining things in a non-threatening way. One is "The Myth of Sanity: Divided Consciousness and the Promise of Awareness" by Martha Stout. Another is "The Stranger In The Mirror" by Marlene Steinberg. Maybe someone else can recommend some others.
poster:Dinah
thread:229576
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20030407/msgs/229754.html