The Osiris Complex: Case Studies in Multiple Personality Disorder

by Colin A. Ross

The purpose of this book is to provide understanding of the relationship between childhood trauma and serious mental illness. Dr Colin Ross, one of the most respected North American authorities on Multiple Personality Disorder, writes that his MPD patients have taught him that virtually all psychiatric symptoms are potentially trauma driven and dissociative in nature. He believes that MPD research will shift the paradigm of psychopathology in the direction of a general trauma model, and away from the two dominant schools of twentieth-century psychiatry, the psychoanalytical and the biomedical. The Osiris Complex is a collection of case histories illustrating the clinical roots of the paradigm transformation Dr Ross anticipates. Contrary to prevalent opinion, MPD patients do not have more than one personality; the so-called different personalities are fragmented components of a single personality, abnormally personified and dissociated from each other. Adult patients exhibit core voices in the head and ongoing blank spells or periods of missing time. The voices are the different parts of the personality talking to one another and to the main, presenting part of the person who comes for treatment. Periods of missing time occur when aspects of the personality take turns being in control of the body and memory barriers are erected between them. Patients also experience symptoms such as depression, anxiety, eating disorders, substance abuse, sleep disorders, sexual dysfunction, psychosomatic symptoms, and symptoms that mimic schizophrenia. MPD patients have experienced the most extreme childhood trauma of any diagnostic group and therefore exhibit the psychobiology and psychopathology of trauma to an extreme degree. The good news is that once diagnosed, the MPD patient can be brought back to health. This book is important for all mental health professionals, and also for the general reader interested in psychiatric phenomena. It will play a powerful role in the social revolution necessary for the recognition of the preponderance, intensity, and hiddenness of severe childhood emotional, physical, and sexual abuse in our culture.

Genres: Psychology, Conspiracy Theories, Nonfiction

296 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 1994

Reviews

[Tinylittlewars · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating read! Ross is truly a genius in the field of mental health, and particularly MPD (or DID, as it's called now). His writing is erudite and insightful, and he brings a rare compassion and sanity to the practice of psychology/psychiatry. His "trauma model" will eventually almost certainly displace the current "biological reductionism" that has been failing us all for the last century. Yet, despite being the world's foremost expert on the subject, his work is not overly technical, tedious or filled with jargon.. it can be enjoyed and understood by anyone interested in such issues. This book is simply made up of case histories that he feels are illustrative of various aspects of the condition, treatment and potential complications one might encounter when working with such patients.. each one chosen being a case that taught him something different, and therefore may be helpful to others. You don't need to be a mental health professional to enjoy it.. the stories are quite interesting and informative for any reader.

[Rachel A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was really looking forward to reading this book for two reasons. First, as someone who studied both Psychology and Child and Youth Work in school, I am used to reading case studies and often found them the most interesting parts of the course. Secondly, MPD is a topic I have always found very interesting and even strongly considered as a topic for my thesis and/or major term papers.

Unfortunately, the actual experience of reading this book did not live up to my expectations. While I found a few of the case studies interesting ("The Stranger Within", "The Evil One", and "A Little Girl Inside" were the ones I enjoyed most), I did not enjoy Ross's writing style. I found most of the book very dry and repetitive, which was a shame because the cases themselves could have been very interesting depending how they were presented. There were also quite a few instances of poor editing, including misspelled words or poor grammar.

One case in particular really killed it for me -- in a case entitled "A Foster Child", Ross very tediously describes all the medication changes the young woman goes through to drive home the point of how badly her case was mishandled. Even though he acknowledges afterwards that it was a long and tedious passage and explains why he wrote it that way, it does not help with the actual experience of reading it. Although I had found the book as a whole hit-or-miss up to that point, depending on how interesting I found the specific case, that section quickly made me lose interest. By the time I got through it (even with skimming the section since I really didn't need to know all the specific names and dosages), I had lost interest in what was otherwise quite an interesting case.

I would still recommend this book as it gives some good, interesting examples of MPD however I would not recommend attempting to read more than 2-3 case studies in a row. Reading more than that only drives home how dry and repetitive the writing can be. It's too bad, because I think the book really could have been fascinating had it been better written.

[Holly Staples · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting case studies of multiple personality disorder...his therapy methods are a little sketchy but it's still interesting.