All About Dissociative Identity Disorder and How to Overcome it with Psychological Therapy & Counselling

What is Dissociative Identity Disorder?

Dissociative identity disorder is a mental health disorder characterised by the ongoing maintenance of at least two distinct and relatively long-lived personality states and was previously known as multiple personality disorder.

The disorder is often accompanied by gaps in the memory that are considered to be more significant than might been seen in normal forgetfulness.

Dissociation is a psychological phenomenon in which the mind creates a mental separation that inhibits access to certain memories allowing the conscious mind to remain undistracted from them.

This is often the case with traumatic experiences and memories and data suggests that dissociative identity disorders are most frequently associated with childhood adversity.

Like many of the mental health disorders, dissociative identity disorder has been categorised as being due to faulty underlying neurobiology however, despite years of imaging research, no conclusive evidence for biological malfunction has been identified.

Dissociative Identity Disorder Symptoms

The main symptoms associated with Dissociative Identity Disorder are the presence of at least TWO measurably different identities with the accompanying inability to access memories linked to each identity.

Other symptoms often include:

• A sense of loss of identity.
• A sense of a loss of time.
• Loss of sense of self.

You may, of course, experience some of these symptoms now and again, but Dissociative Identity Disorder sufferers will always demonstrate these symptoms with greater intensity.

Diagnosis of Dissociative Identity Disorder

Technically, only a psychiatrist can diagnose a dissociative identity disorder, but in the UK general practitioners have tended to diagnose mental health problems by using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).

The DSM lists specific symptoms against a range of disorders and whenever a person meets this criteria, they are said to be suffering from that disorder.

Diagnostic procedures do NOT make use of medical testing (for example blood tests) in order to produce a diagnosis, but rather is an opinion based on the observation of certain behaviours in the person who is suffering.

Because of this lack of verifiable medical testing, diagnosis remains a controversial subject, particularly within the psychological community.

However, in the UK access to support services is often contingent on receiving a diagnosis, so in this sense, a formal diagnosis may be useful.

Counselling for Dissociative Identity Disorder

We offer a number of different types of therapy and counselling for Dissociative Identity Disorder and related problems.

Choosing the most suitable therapy depends on a number of different considerations including factors such as:

• How long you have had the problem.
• Your personal preferences.
• How your problem is affecting you today.

You can read more about the different types of therapy for Dissociative Identity Disorder on the following links:

• CBT for Dissociative Identity Disorder
• Counselling for Dissociative Identity Disorder
• Pluralistic Therapy for Dissociative Identity Disorder

Although all therapies use slightly different approaches, the one thing they all have in common is the relationship that is formed between the client and therapist.

Research suggests that this therapy relationship may be the most important factor in achieving a good therapy outcome.

Behaviour Change Framework – BCF

All of our counselling sessions and programmes are enhanced by applying the Behaviour Change Framework (BCF).

This scientifically proven protocol clearly defines the incremental stages of behaviour change that you need to go through in order to achieve long lasting and sustainable change.

Drawn from the Transtheoretical Model of Behaviour Change (TTM), the framework provides a roadmap that not only gauges the current stage of progression through the change process, but also indicates if more change is required before entering the next phase of therapy or coaching.

In this way, we are able to ensure that you get the best possible level of support in overcoming your problems as well as ensuring that we don’t terminate the change process prematurely.

You can read more about the Science of Change here.

Arrange your FREE initial consultation here.

If you’d like to find out more about Dissociative Identity Disorder or recovering from any of your mental health problems then why not arrange a free initial consultation with us.

During this consultation we will discuss your particular issues and the different types of mental health counselling we offer (including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy – CBT) without you having to commit to any counselling going forward.

The consultation lasts around 50 minutes and is a great opportunity to meet with either Paul or Joan and decide if you would like to proceed with any support.