Somatic Experiencing is a body-focused trauma therapy that was developed by Peter Levine. It is based on the idea that trauma is not mainly a problem of memory or attachment. The theory is that survival energy that was mobilized during dangerous situations could not properly dissolve (usually because of limited ability to move the way […]
DID
Halfway home – bridging the gap between worlds
When we work with our DID system, we can face situations where traumatized parts were cut off from the normal world. They have never been in contact with it and all they know is the world that the abusers created around them. Especially in organized abuse, the world that they know will have a limited […]
Rescripting with DID parts: Same Technique – different Missions
[Disclaimer: This article is based on personal experience with a bunch of different but similar rescripting techniques. For DID therapy, rescripting in IFS barely differs from rescripting with IRRT or similar techniques because all of them have to be adapted. Once they are adapted we can notice two different patterns for inner processes instead of just […]
Managers, Exiles and Firefighters in DID
Using IFS for DID therapy is a mixed bag. There is advanced training that does support DID therapy but many people with DID who are confronted with the basic training feel alienated and like something about it is off. It was not developed with dissociative barriers in mind. There is still a basic dynamic that […]
Dealing with Intrusive Thoughts
Intrusive thoughts are thoughts that suddenly appear in our head and that we perceive as stressful and beyond our control. The content is often shameful or mean and there is a certain tone to them. Such thoughts can be very distressing, especially if they are never actually quiet. And thoughts are not as easy to […]
Avoiding the inner Tug of War
Once we are aware that we go through different stress responses and that parts feel most comfortable in states that match their action systems we can use that knowledge to examine inner dynamics that cause us trouble. We might be drifting apart in response to the external situation we are in. The result is a […]
Learning how to Reflect about Reality
In our quest to make sense of ourselves and the world we will spend quite some time reflecting about experiences. We already shared how to reflect on inner experiences. Now we will look at how to make sense of the world around us. Constructivism We all know only fragments of all the things there […]
Befriending dissociated parts: First Steps
Some people with DID grow up thinking that having Others inside is normal because they always had a way to communicate with each other. But a lot of people are surprised by their diagnosis. They didn’t suspect anything and they don’t have any idea how to make first contact. There might be awareness of blackouts […]
Signposting for the Day (morning exercise)
This exercise is typically used when our days are chaotic because some parts are not aware of the plans others have made and we accidentally work against each other. We miss appointments, do things twice or forget them altogether, we might be chronically late or irrationally worried about being late etc. It is also a […]
Preparing for difficult situations
We sometimes face difficult situations or events and we cannot avoid them because they are important (medical exams, our best friend’s wedding) or they will happen no matter what we do (anniversaries). We need to find a way to reduce the negative impact as much as possible and maybe even turn this into a success. […]
How to choose trauma content for processing
Sooner or later in our recovery journey we will have to decide where to start processing. Because of the amount of trauma we experienced we cannot possibly process everything and the good news is that we don’t have to. But we will have to use some kind of concept to help us prioritize what to […]
About the alternative diagnostic criteria for DID (Dell)
One of my great pleasures in life is reading scientific discourse. Specifically, when great minds discuss scientific theories and approaches and everyone picks on the problems in each other’s theory or framework. If you like these things, please make sure to read Dissociation and the Dissociative Disorders, articles by various specialists collected by Paul […]
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