Abuser-loyal parts often feel closely attached to abusers and hold warm feelings for them like love, gratefulness, awe etc. In the past, that was a helpful survival strategy because it has an appeasing effect. The efforts to please these people granted us more safety. We also split up the inner picture of abusive people in […]
DID
Integrative Actions in Trauma Processing for DID
The concept behind trauma processing is usually to bring up the traumatic memory in a controlled setting, use an intervention to break up the fixed way in which it got stuck and then support the brain in re-organizing the memory in a new and more connected/integrated way. That is why you will find the term […]
Screen Technique in Trauma Therapy
For the Screen Technique, trauma patients are asked to imagine their memories like a movie on a screen. It is supposed to create some distance to the memory to avoid flooding. The memory is not happening right here right now, it is just on the screen. The pictures on the screen can then be changed […]
Preparing for Trauma Processing for DID
We can treat trauma processing like any other difficult situation and prepare for it by making a BDA Plan. It is a structured way to make sure that we have everything we need so that the therapy session can go smoothly. Being informed and organized takes at least some of the stress out of a […]
In the Mirror of the Other (advanced)
Our own integration starts in the thinking mind of our therapist I wrote that almost exactly 3 years ago when talking about the therapeutic relationship. As I move into later phases of therapy it seems to me that this is one of the most profound things I have ever said. So please forgive […]
Misinterpretations of DID-related behaviors (for helpers)
When we have DID, it is incredibly easy to get a misdiagnosis because the behaviors that we show based on our trauma history or inner experience get misinterpreted by mental health professionals. Common misdiagnoses are all kinds of personality disorders, bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. In some cases, we might show isolated behaviors that are considered […]
Grounded Rescripting with dissociative parts
In Rescripting Techniques we work with the traumatic memory by looking at the scene and then changing things about it in our imagination to resolve the situation and bring it to a new and better ending. It is often done in the form of a rescue mission where our present self or adult parts enter […]
Epiphany #11: The Difference
What would make a difference? This is an essential question in DID therapy. Many of the normal therapy tools fail to reach deeper into the system than the facade of a host. The host agrees to do what is asked. They always do what they are supposed to do. But, does it make […]
Earned secure attachment within a DID system
Everyone has attachment. It is how humans are built. Not everyone has secure attachment though. The 3 insecure attachment types are anxious/preoccupied, avoidant/dismissive and disorganized. The vast majority of people with DID have disorganized attachment when we look at the whole person. This presentation is based on some parts who are attachment seeking and anxious […]
The 3 Phases of Trauma Therapy 3: Integration
Trauma and DID therapists commonly agree on working with a 3-phase model. It describes an order in which to do work for the best, fastest and safest results. In an attempt to keep articles short we will share about the different phases in separate articles. The 3 phases are Stabilization Trauma Processing Integration It […]
Integrating Contradicting Parts
Dissociated parts are not all the same person at a different developmental stage. The functions and abilities of one complete person were separated into many pieces to cope with traumatic situations. And then parts kept developing and growing around the piece of functioning that they contain. Today, they are more than this one ability or […]
Blending dissociative parts (advanced)
Blending is an act where dissociative barriers are dissolved for a limited time so that the experience of one part mixes with the experience of another. They experience a temporary unity of self and they can move apart again intentionally, as they wish. During the first phases of our treatment we want to avoid blending […]
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