Multiple Personality Disorder From the Inside Out

by Barry M. Cohen, Esther Giller (Editor), Lynn W. (Editor)

In "Multiple Personality Disorder from the Inside Out," 146 people who have MPD and their significant others reveal the complex issues of diagnosis, therapy, and maintaining personal relationships. These writings have been gathered into a compelling and practical volume for anyone interested in improving the support network for individuals who suffer with MPD.

MPD has been known as Dissociative Identity Disorder since the mid-1990s.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Mental Health

268 pages, Paperback

First published September 4, 1991

Reviews

[Astraea · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the book that told us things had to change.

Under the auspices of Many Voices and the ISSMPD (now ISSTD), essays and notes by abuse survivors and trauma-split multiples. According to the publisher's description, we are to be reassured that the writers are "guided by therapists", as if they couldn't write independently. They could and did, and each unique voice in the text is clear.

The way this worked, readers of Many Voices and members of the ISSMPD were asked to write essays in response to three questions: 1) What do you wish you'd known when you were first diagnosed with MPD? 2) What would you like therapists to know about MPD? 3) What do you wish your loved ones to know about MPD? Family members were asked: What would you like to tell other friends and family members about MPD?

The responses are arranged in chapters according to experience; diagnosis, pain, skeptics, hope and (of course) unification. MPD and severe childhood trauma are portrayed as being the same thing. Many of the writers describe extreme dependence on therapists; in most cases the therapists were the only ones they could be openly themselves with. A set of guidelines for clients included "be ready to sell your home, car, or even go bankrupt to pay for therapy". Most of the essays were by "the host" or "the main person", rather than by other group members. There are one or two skeptical voices. One woman described being in an incest survivors' support group where the facilitator handed out copies of Sybil and When Rabbit Howls and had people keep journals of their "parts". There are a number of astute observations about psychotherapy. Many express suspicion of the paradigm, and especially about integration as a necessary part of the healing process.

In the 1980s and 90s, this was as close as multiples could get to speaking for themselves. The cultural identity called "multiple personality" was completely bound to the world of psychiatry. People who felt they were sharing their bodies with others could not talk about it without attempting to fit themselves into the established profile. And if they didn't, the people they told about it certainly would! Multiplicity was always seen as a mental disorder, a form of extreme dissociation, caused by a certain kind or severity of abuse or trauma in childhood. And adult multiples never knew that they were until given the diagnosis by that noble (singlet) therapist, who proceeded to light the path of their courageous healing, which always culminated in integration.

In those days, few had ever heard of living multiple; outside of a relative handful of therapists who practiced family therapy with multiple clients to help them build a working operating system instead of integration.

This of course skews the editors' choice of client descriptions of what it's like to be multiple, or more specifically, what it's like to have multiple personality disorder. Text and art were all carefully selected to present a near-uniform picture of suffering, fear and pain. Obviously this was done to show readers that if they were experiencing similar feelings, they were not alone. However, it excludes those who are multiple but do not fit this particular profile. We wondered about the material that didn't make the cut. This was why we read the book and felt that things needed to change.

If you feel you really have classic MPD or DID, you could not do better than to read this book. It must be an amazingly validating feeling, to know that others have gone through the same thing you are going through. Unlike most of the popular accounts, this book has no extensively grueling descriptions of sexual or other trauma that are supposed to cause MPD, only an acknowledgement that those things exist and that healing and recovery are possible.

[Iamshadow · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really important book, a snapshot of a generation of multiple systems existing at a time when everything was changing regarding diagnosis, treatment, study, and awareness of child abuse and trauma disorders, and multiple systems were standing at the centre of that storm. This is a book that's focussed on multiplicity as a disorder, yes, but in the submissions there are whispers of systems asking, what if there is another way to be? Many want integration, a lot really don't know and just want to improve at all with anything, but there are a notable few who just want to work better as a team and live a better life as themselves.

I thought the 'significant others' section was important, but I also was really pleased to see that it was short and was basically an end section, and that the primary voices in the book were the systems themselves, be they integrated, small, large, or immense systems.

The trauma here is mentioned for context and in passing, but is not the focus of this book, unlike a lot of other books about multiple systems. Primarily, it's a book about life. About how they got there, what they've sacrificed, about help from friends, family, and professionals, about therapy good and bad. It's about the insecurity that comes with any kind of life-altering circumstances, about the continual shifts that happen of the goal posts. There's both hope here, and despair, but that feels real, too.

All in all, I think this is a book that has a lot to offer, even though it's close to thirty years old. Diagnostic labels, therapeutic techniques, and psychological theories have moved on, but the lived experience of multiplicity remains very, very similar.

[Angie crosby · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this because it has things written by other multiples. That helps some here feel less alone.

Yet it is not a book for everyone.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was beneficial in assisting me with better understanding the experiences my clients live through with Dissociative Identity Disorder. Although not compiled specifically for clinicians, I found it gave me insight that I wouldn't have gotten in an academic piece.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who lives with DID, for their family and friends, and for Therapists and Case Managers who work with people diagnosed with DID (MPD). The book encourages empathy with, and greater understanding into, people living with this special coping strategy.

[Theodore · Rating 4 out of 5]

While using outdated language due to the time it was written, I found much of the letters from people with DID (regarded as MPD, but I will be using the new clinical term) to be raw, accurate, and incredibly insightful. The section for family and friends was a great addition, and I would still have people in my life read it.

For those with DID thinking of reading this book, please be careful and take it slow. Like I said, the passages are honest and bare. It can be hard to read. It might induce more dissociation, so I would read it either with a supportive person at the same time or have someone you can access in case emotions or memories do come up. Some of the letters include descriptions of abuse, so it might be helpful to have someone who can handle that read the book before you to warn you of when that may come up.

[aimeelire]

I'm glad a book like this exists. I'm sure it helps many people with MPD/DID feel less alone in their struggles. I also find the two parts about therapy very important and a must-read for any therapists who wants to work with people with DID. In these sections patients talk about their fears, apprehension, desires for therapy, how they want or do not want to be treated. Of course this is not a manual and the feelings will depend on each individual, but this book is a great way to start if someone is looking to understand what goes on in people with DID 's lives and minds.

[Patricia English · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not finish this book, It was a good book for what it was. but it was a very run on book from the perspective of the people with MPD. I got through half of it and just could not go on. I found it very run on and hard to get through. Thats just me. I states exactly what it is , its from the inside out.

[Mycor System · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this really helpful and relatable. A good way to know you aren't alone or find some words for what you're experiencing.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book on a friend's bookshelf in college and asked if I could borrow it. In it I found myself. This book is still incredibly meaningful to me and contains writings from many different multiples. I lend or give copies to those close to me. Trigger warning.

[Toby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this is a somewhat dated book, but it is a gem (compiled in 1991 -- which is not that long ago, but considering how far the fields of psychology and psychiatry have come since then, it definitely makes a difference). MPD -- known today as DID, or dissociative identity disorder -- is discussed here in detail, but not by therapists or psychiatrists. It is, instead, a collection of various writings done by people who live with DID, whether multiples themselves or their spouses/friends/family members (in one section).

The reason that, for me, it didn't get 5/5 stars was because it focused very much on the negative side of DID; the pain, the fear, the hurt, the disruption to daily life that DID can cause. But it didn't focus much on the good aspects of DID -- and yes, there are actually good aspects to it, and I'm pretty sure every multiple would agree to that to some degree. DID is only a disorder when it's disrupting the multiple's life. Many times, it is just a way of life, especially if integration is something that hasn't been sought after.

This is very much a book that someone who has DID or DDNOS should read. Although compiled 24 years ago, a lot of what is written about in this book still holds true today. And it affirms so much of what a multiple goes through -- not necessarily the stereotypical "losing time," but less stereotypical things as well. It also goes into detail about what to look out for in therapy, both bad and good.

Another (major) point in its favor is that none of the writing in this book go into detail about what caused each multiple's diagnosis. It's just generally accepted that there was several child abuse, but (apparently unlike Sybil or When Rabbit Howls) there is absolutely nothing graphic.

Word of caution though -- if you are a multiple and plan on reading this, plan to take your time doing so. This is not a book to rush through. Some portions of the book may cause some "stuff" to come up for you. Just like you don't want flooding to happen with memories, you also don't want to plan on reading this book in a day. When you read it, have a journal/notepad next to you so you can jot some thoughts down. If you can read it quickly, great! but just thought I'd throw that out there, since it can be tough reading in a few chapters (namely chapter 2, "Pain").

I am so glad that I picked this book up. It's definitely going to be one that I keep and reread.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably the most memorable and helpful book I've ever read on the subject.