“Mary was my first encounter with dissociative identity disorder (DID), which at that time was called multiple personality disorder. As dramatic as its symptoms are, the internal splitting and emergence of distinct identities experienced in DID represent only the extreme end of the spectrum of mental life.” Mental HealthDissociative Identity DisorderDissociationMultiple Personality DisorderMental Life Book:The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma Source: The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma
“It was early in my career, and I had been seeing Mary, a shy, lonely, and physically collapsed young woman, for about three months in weekly psychotherapy, dealing with the ravages of her terrible history of early abuse. One day I opened the door to my waiting room and saw her standing there provocatively, dressed in a miniskirt, her hair dyed flaming red, with a cup of coffee in one hand and a snarl on her face. “You must be Dr. van der Kolk,” she said. “My name is Jane, and I came to warn you not to believe any the lies that Mary has been telling you. Can I come in and tell you about her?” I was stunned but fortunately kept myself from confronting “Jane” and instead heard her out. Over the course of our session I met not only Jane but also a hurt little girl and an angry male adolescent. That was the beginning of a long and productive treatment.” LyingDenialDissociative Identity DisorderSurvivorsMultiple Personality DisorderLiarMultiple PersonalitiesDissociativeAbuse SurvivorRecantRetractPyschotherapy Book:The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma Source: The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma