Written for: people interested in DID. Some is for therapists, some for patients, a little for significant others. Some of the information is specific for the US only.
Special focus: it doesn’t have one. This book offers broad information about DID. That is its greatest strength and weakness at the same time.
What it is not:
- a good book for therapists to find help treating their dissociative patients
- a good book for DID patients to find practical help for coping with specific problems
- up to date. I got the newest version I could find, which was printed in 2001 and still refered to the DSM IV
Language: this book uses psychological and medical terms and superior vocabulary, which makes it harder to read if you mother tongue is not english. It was not translated into other languages.
Book: it can easily be found and bought used, which makes it a cheap option for getting information. The chapters are divided into small sections about specific questions, which makes it easier to read if you struggle with attention span and focus.
Overview
Chapter 1
introduces the diagnosis of DID, explains vocabulary, looks at the history of DID, the diagnostic criteria and the theory behind it all. Even though the references are made to the DSM IV and there is more recent science and therapeutic experience available, this is a solid foundation to understanding DID.
Chapter 2
is a theoretical and almost philosophical discourse on the question if DID should be seen as disorder or rather as adaptive functioning in extreme situations. It goes into details of pros and cons of having DID and helps to show the reader that it is both, adaptive and a disorder. We are not sure why this is in the book and if maybe in the past this has been a more discussed question.
Chapter 3
goes into greater detail about the diagnosis and the differences between DID, schizophrenia, ego state disorder, borderline personality disorder and introduces the DES as a screening tool as well as different questionnaires. Therapists can find advice on how and when to diagnose DID (although we are not completely sure if the advice is really up to date) and how to notice the more hidden signs. This chapter seems mainly useful for therapists (and intimidating for patients who are scared that they will not be believed.)
Chapter 4
is about getting into therapy. This is aimed to help patients, but the details of the information only apply for US citizens and with the recent changes in the health care system I am not sure if all of it is still valid.
There is some help on how to find and choose a T and what questions to ask. This is what we considered the most helpful sub-chapter in the book. Information about different therapeutic approaches is limited to very few and/or the american system.
Chapter 5
explains the 3 phases of DID therapy as stabilization and personal issues, trauma work and integration, including post-integration therapy. Another chapter of solid information for therapists and patients.
Chapter 6
addresses problem in therapy and where they might be rooted, then explains how PTSD symptoms can slow down the DID-specific work. Both have to be treated at the same time. There are some great examples of other kinds of therapy approaches that could support the main therapy, like art therapy or DBT.
Chapter 7
is about the role of medication in DID therapy. It lists a few standard drugs, how they work and what to take them for. There is no magic pill against DID. The drugs mentioned help with co-morbid problems like depression or anxiety or insomnia. You need to discuss this in detail with a doctor!! Our own experience with medication turned out more complicated. Difficulties we experience (like not having a stable effect, depending on which part took the meds) are not mentioned.
Chapter 8
is about engaging in groups, like therapy groups, but also self-help and support groups like AA. We felt helpless reading about the “option“ of a DID group therapy. We are not sure how big a city has to be to make this available. Modern ways of communication, like joining facebook or twitter groups are not mentioned. There are some ideas for therapists on how to lead a therapy group, focussing on resource work, not trauma details.
Chapter 9
is about self-help and coping skills. There is short information about how to recognize when you are dissociating, how to communicate within the system to calm yourself and a list of soothing activities. This chapter has most of the standards as you can find them on this blog and various other places on the internet. Again, solid information without surprises. We found that the presentation made it a little difficult to grasp it all. This is certainly not a workbook.
Chapter 10
is written for significant others (and therapists) and addresses problems with communication and boundaries as well as the need for self-care for those who want to provide care for someone with DID. It also gives ideas on how to help a system in crisis and support stability and grounding.
In the back there is info on treatment programs (within the US), where to find resources, organisations, books that could be interesting ( for littles, bigs, significant others and therapist) and websites.
After reading
we felt frustrated. While this is a rock solid book about the basics of DID the most we got out of it were the recommendations in the back. If you are already familiar with the basics this book will not offer anything new for you.
This book covers a lot of ground. Which by nature means that it cannot go into details. If you are hoping that any of the information in the book would be a shortcut in therapy or help you with a specific problem you will be disappointed. Somehow the book manages to be too much and not enough at the same time.
It was written for an american audience. We are aware that only about a quarter of our visitors on this blog are americans. If you can find a DID book by someone in your country we would recommend reading that.
The greatest downside is the fact that this book is not up to date with current development in DID therapy and research. Maybe it would be a good time for a revision.
We would highly recommend turning to
“Treating trauma-related dissociation“ (for therapist) and
“Coping with trauma-related dissociation“ (for patients and therapists)
by Steele, Boon, van der Hart for more recent information and more practical approaches.
We will not keep this book in our minimalist bookshelf. We considered giving it to friends who are interested in DID and decided against it. We believe that all of the information can be found on the internet with a simple google search.
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