DID is a real thing

Dissociative Identity Disorder is a diagnosis that is very controversial in the minds of many clinicians today, which I find very confusing. A recent study found that this disorder is just as prevalent as Schizophrenia, which no one seems to question or disagree with. In addition, the diagnosis of DID has been a part of our diagnostic manual for many years. So why are so many clinicians in denial about this condition? I believe it is because of the complexity of how people with the disorder present themselves.

I started working with the population on a regular basis when I noticed some peculiar changes in the clients I was working with. One day a quiet and demur southern woman I had been seeing stomped into my office and glared into my face. This was not the same presentation that I was used to with her. As I explored more, I realized that she was certainly not the same, and had a whole other set of values and ideas to the client I had seen for the past year. When I spoke to her the following week, she barely remembered the previous session, and I told her about what I had seen. I think clinicians struggle both to notice these changes, and to deal with them effectively.

As I present at conferences and talk to my students about this condition, the fascination of both them and myself seems to grow. I would love to see more clinicians start to work with these individuals, or rather become more aware that they are in fact doing so whether they know it or not. We need to increase the standards we have for ourselves in terms of trauma competence and understanding the role that the brain and the body play in the mental health of our clients. I ask all of you to be mindful when working with clients that have trauma, as well as the common misdiagnosis of Bi-polar, Borderline, and psychotic Disorders that all of my DID clients have suffered under in the past. DID clients are expert at hiding themselves, but if you can see them for who they truly are, you will be able to help them in a way that perhaps you never had before.

Written By: Rhett Brandt, Ph.D, LMHC

Dr. Brandt is a Licensed Mental Health Counselorin Florida and a Licensed Professional Counselorin Alabama. He has been a practicingpsychotherapist for 20 years. He earned a Ph.D. inCounselor Education from the University of Alabama in 1997. Hisdissertation looked at the formation and use of theoreticalorientation in counselors. He moved into private practice 17 yearsago. He began noticing more and more that emotional repressionand childhood trauma were the precursors to mental healthinstability. His passion in a clinical setting involves working withtrauma and dissociation, in particular clients that suffer withDissociative Identity Disorder. His core belief is that theexpression of emotions is the path to growth, and that creating anenvironment where those emotions can be brought forward is myrole in the process