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“Personality” |
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The
Problem
With
“Personality”
|
 HE
French psychoanalyst,
Jacques Lacan, taught that all desire is the “
desire of the Other.”
[1]
In plain language, this means that most of our unconscious life
 is a product of a variety of external social influences.
The concept of personality, therefore, although a common term in
psychology, really doesn’t mean much because any person is really composed
of many diverse, fragmentary—and generally illusory—images of
“self.” In the midst of such chaos, psychology can’t
heal a personality so much as help a person recognize all these
illusions.
These
normal fragments of personality are often called
ego states, a
term derived from the clinical hypnosis
work of John & Helen Watkins. In contrast, Multiple
Personality Disorder (MPD) is an abnormal condition in which the personality
becomes so fragmented that some of the various parts cannot even communicate with each
other.
MPD, now
known in diagnostic terminology as Dissociative
Identity Disorder (DID), has a fascination as
well as a mystery about it. For example, it’s possible to recognize
each different personality, or “alter,” from just a few words—in
the same way that it’s possible to recognize instantly the voice of
a person calling on the telephone. On the other hand, no one can understand
the process by which the human brain can create and hold separate and distinct
each different personality.
Nevertheless,
in spite of the things we don’t know, several things can be said to
help you understand something about normal and abnormal “personality”
phenomena. |
Ego
States:
The
Illusion
Of
Identity
|
As I said before, we should first realize that no one has
a truly single, or unified, personality. For the most part, what psychologists
talk about as “identity,”
although a useful construct, is a complete illusion. Simply consider, for
example, that the scientist who works in the lab is a quite different
“person” from the parent who plays with the children, who is again
a completely different “person” from the intimate husband or wife.
Still, this is all one and the same “person.” As I said above,
these different qualities of personality have been called ego
states.
Sometimes, we
notice this by saying something like, “I saw so-and-so at the company
picnic over the weekend, and when he was playing with the children he showed
a child-like side of himself that I had never seen before.” There is
nothing abnormal about this except the fact that we don’t notice such
things more often.
|
Occasionally
you might hear about a person who commits a crime or is implicated in a scandal.
Friends and family may rush to the defense, saying “It couldn’t
be true! He is so nice and so devoted to his family.” Well, sad
to say, it could very well be that a lewd or criminal ego state exists
side-by-side with the pillar-of-the-community ego state. Therefore, a
person’s behavior in one situation does not “prove” anything
about the rest of his or her life.
One point to remember here is that even though the motivation for
one’s behavior may be unconscious,
an ego state is not a dissociative experience. Therefore, when acting from
a particular ego state one is still aware of the behavior itself.
This all goes to show that unless your values embrace all your ego states
you will always be vulnerable
to the “snares” of corruption. It takes considerable
discipline to communicate with and heal all the aspects of your
personality so as to live a truly
honest and spiritual life.
Unfortunately, all too many people in this world don’t want anything
to do with such discipline. And so we have the on-going problem of apparently
upstanding members of the community hiding—and denying—their secrets.
Secrets, for example, such as child abuse. |
|
Discovering and
understanding ego states can be an important part of psychotherapy.
For example, the “Little You” can hold much of your emotional pain from childhood,
and the “Teenage You” can be involved with rebelliousness. In this regard, note that it
can be comforting to know that, during the process of your emotional healing, you do not
have to identify with the distress of a child ego state; that is, the adult part of you
can listen objectively and without fear to the child part’s emotional pain. So if you resolve
to listen to that pain, rather than run from it as you likely have been doing most of your
life, then the missing part of your psychological healing can
be remedied.
As you get to know your
ego states, you will realize that each one has a particular talent. There can be a gentle
one, a firm one, a suspicious and cynical one, a wise one, a creative one, a contemplative
one, a focused one, an intuitive one, a practical one, an authoritative one, a cooperative
one, and so on. Allowing each ego state to have a proper place in your daily life is essential
to your mental health.
Notice, though, that ego states
can’t function all at once. Just as a chef, for example, may have various tools—such as
measuring spoons and cups, knives, bowls, mixers, blenders, and so on—each tool has a
specific purpose and specific time to be used. Knowing your ego states, therefore, will
allow you to benefit from the specific talent of each one as it is needed.
Note carefully, though,
that all ego states are parts of your unconscious and so all ego
states are true parts of yourself; that is, there is no such thing as a “false self,”
even though popular psychology often misunderstands this point.
|
Personality
Disorders
|
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders, Fourth Edition
(DSM-IV) [2] describes several types of Personality Disorders
which might be diagnosed. Mind
you, the disorders and their descriptions that follow are not my own ideas; they have
been created by the American Psychiatric Association, and they are the mainstay
of all contemporary psychotherapy that functions on the concept of psychiatric
diagnosis.
|
A NOTE ABOUT
PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING
FOR PERSONALITY DISORDERS
Although
psychological testing
might be used to aid in a psychiatric diagnosis, most personality tests are
best used in forensic
applications. For clinical purposes, a competent psychologist can diagnose
any of the personality disorders just through a clinical interview. Moreover,
in regard to psychotherapy, simply knowing the personality disorder diagnosis
does little to explain the nature of a person’s unique, individual
problems.
Note also that “popular” tests such as the Myers-Briggs Type
Indicator and the Enneagram, often used in educational and corporate
personnel settings to assess personality “types,” have little clinical
use to a competent psychologist and are best reserved for
entertainment. |
|
Cluster A
Personality Disorders
Paranoid
Personality Disorder refers to a “pervasive
distrust and suspiciousness of others such that their motives are interpreted
as malevolent.”
Schizoid
Personality Disorder refers to a “pervasive
pattern of detachment from social relationships and a restricted range of
expression of emotions in interpersonal settings.”
Schizotypal
Personality Disorder refers to a “pervasive
pattern of social and interpersonal deficits marked by acute discomfort with,
and reduced capacity for, close relationships as well as by cognitive or
perceptual distortions and eccentricities of
behavior.”
Cluster B
Personality Disorders
Antisocial
Personality Disorder refers to a “pervasive
pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of
others.”
Borderline
Personality Disorder refers to a “pervasive
pattern of instability of interpersonal relationships, self-image, and affects,
and marked impulsivity.”
Histrionic
Personality Disorder refers to a “pervasive
pattern of excessive emotionality and attention
seeking.”
Narcissistic
Personality Disorder refers to a “pervasive
pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behavior), a need for admiration, a lack
of empathy,” and manipulative ploys.
|
Note that in
colloquial usage those “manipulative ploys” used by a narcissist
are often called gaslighting. This term derives from a 1940’s movie
called Gaslight. In the movie, a woman was emotionally tormented and
almost driven insane by her narcissistic husband. The movie was set in a
time before electric lighting, when gas lights were used. The husband used
many deceptive ploys wherby he would be the cause of strange events yet
would blame them on his wife. One deception was his causing the lights in
the house to flicker when he secretly entered the attic; when his wife
complained that the lights had been flickering, he would coolly state that
flickering lights were nonsense and that his wife was going crazy.
Note also that
when the ploys of a narcissist are suspected, the narcissist’s characteristic
defense is to claim that the accuser is crazy and just one of those “conspiracy
theorists.” Yet the truth is that most conspiracy theories are actually
true.
|
|
Cluster C
Personality Disorders
Avoidant
Personality Disorder refers to a “pervasive
pattern of social inhibition, feelings of inadequacy, and hypersensitivity
to negative evaluation.”
Dependent
Personality Disorder refers to a “pervasive
and excessive need to be taken care of that leads to submissive and clinging
behavior and fears of separation.”
Obsessive-Compulsive
Personality Disorder refers to a “pervasive
pattern of preoccupation with orderliness, perfectionism, and mental and
interpersonal control, at the expense of flexibility, openness, and
efficiency.”
|
Sometimes,
a person is described as having an Anal
Personality or as being anal retentive.
 These terms derive from Freud’s philosophy of
psychoanalysis
and his theories about psycho-sexual development; the terms are not DSM-IV
diagnoses. Rather, they are descriptive phrases which are used quite freely
today—and often without regard for their technical, psychoanalytic
meaning.
These terms actually derive their meaning from the process of toilet training.
Sometimes, for their convenience, parents want toilet functions to happen
on schedule. And sometimes a child doesn’t want to cooperate; he or
she can “hold back” these functions for his or her own satisfaction.
Healthy development requires that the child and the parents work out these
conflicts peacefully, in a fair give-and-take of assertiveness. If, however,
the child feels resentful because he or she always has to give in to the
parents’ demands, he or she can end up with an “anal
personality”—that is, the child will appear to be generous but
will actually (unconsciously) want to retain and hoard things out of a fear
of losing them to the demands of others. As the child grows up, he or she
will have the tendency to fall into this hoarding mentality as a defensive
way of coping with an emotional crisis. So someone will say, “He/she
is so anal retentive!” (Of course, in free usage, the term anal
retentive can be used of someone without any knowledge of that person’s
unconscious
motivation; in this case, the term probably doesn’t mean much more than
“selfish.”)
Passive-Aggressive
Personality is another Freudian term. It refers
to a person who gives the appearance of being cooperative and yet whose continual
procrastination and dawdling are really an unconscious
manipulation reflecting hostility. The underlying dynamic here is spite,
a desire to retaliate
against those who are perceived to be hurtful. In their own eyes these persons
may see themselves as victims of circumstances beyond their control, but
all their unfortunate failures—which ultimately block the plans of
others—are unconsciously contrived. |
|
|
Treatment
for
Personality
Disorders
|
When the DSM-IV describes the symptoms of the various personality
disorders, it consistently refers to the “pervasive pattern” of
those symptoms. This indicates that personality disorders do not just pop
up overnight, like mushrooms after a rain; instead, the symptoms have
well-developed roots reaching deep into the
unconscious.
Accordingly,
the treatment for a personality disorder will take considerable time. A few
sessions of cognitive-behavioral treatment will
likely not have much effect on deeply rooted unconscious conflicts. In fact,
this very fact explains why mental health insurance
companies often refuse to pay for any treatment when an Axis II diagnosis
(a personality disorder) is the primary
diagnosis.
Now, some
personality disorders are by definition, so to speak, almost impossible to
treat. Individuals with Paranoid Personality
Disorder or
Antisocial Personality
Disorder, for example, will simply avoid any
hint of mental health treatment. Treatment for
Narcissistic Personality
Disorder can have its own problems, in that
the narcissist will often feel superior to the psychologist providing the
treatment.
Nevertheless,
treatment for personality disorders can be effective, given the necessary
time and money.
• |
In general, the
treatment will focus on overcoming all of your many unhealthy
psychological defense mechanisms that have been built up over a lifetime
of emotional pain. This will be accomplished primarily through genuine,
honest emotional encounters with your psychologist.
In essence, the psychotherapeutic work all depends on the integrity of the
psychotherapeutic relationship, through which new,
psychologically healthy interpersonal behaviors and healthy
boundaries will replace old, unhealthy defense
mechanisms. |
• |
Dream
analysis can be especially helpful in this work, as long as the analysis
avoids any standardized “cookbook” meanings, and as long as the
analysis avoids “spiritualizing” the dreams as some sort of mystical
insights. Dreams generally provide powerful images of interpersonal functioning
that, when properly understood, can guide you into correcting your psychological
mistakes. |
• |
It can also help
if you do anything you can to disentangle yourself from the
social illusions of the ego. Personality
disorders have their essential basis in defending ego “identity”
and protecting it from interpersonal threat, so you will benefit much to
learn, as the psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan
taught, that “I” is an illusion. Instead of filling yourself with
repetitive assertions of what “I want” and what “I need”
and what “I deserve” and what “I fear,” turn your attention
to what you can give to others—that is, to all the emotionally wounded
individuals in this world—through personal sacrifice and prayer. This,
after all, is what true love is all about, and personality disorders, in
one way or another, do their psychological best to maintain your
fear of love. |
|
Dissociative
Disorders
|
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders, Fourth Edition
(DSM-IV) [2a] describes several types of Dissociative Disorders
which might be diagnosed.
Dissociative
Amnesia refers to the inability to recall important
personal information, usually of a traumatic or stressful nature. This
amnesia, from the Greek term meaning a lack of remembering, is far
more extensive than ordinary forgetfulness.
Dissociative Amnesia would not be diagnosed if the amnesia
did not cause a major disturbance to the person’s life or if
it were due to the physiological effects of a substance (e.g., drugs or alcohol)
or a general medical condition, such as Alzheimer’s disease,
a head trauma, or epilepsy, for example.
Dissociative
Fugue refers to a sudden, unexpected travel
away from home with the inability to recall one’s past, leading to confusion
about one’s identity—or even the assumption of a new identity.
Dissociative Fugue would not be diagnosed if the symptoms did
not cause a major disturbance to the person’s life or if they
were due to the physiological effects of a substance (e.g., drugs or alcohol)
or a general medical condition.
Dissociative
Identity Disorder (DID), formerly called
Multiple Personality Disorder, has several diagnostic
features:
• |
The presence of two or more distinct
identities, each with its own unique, and enduring, way of relating to the
world and self. |
• |
At least two of these identities
recurrently take control of the person’s behavior. |
• |
An inability to recall important
personal information to an extent that is more than ordinary forgetfulness.
Classic examples are finding new clothes in your closet which you don’t
remember buying; finding yourself in a place or situation and not being able
to remember how you got there; having a complete loss of memory for what
happened in the previous few days. |
DID would not
be diagnosed if the symptoms did not cause a major disturbance to the
person’s life or if they were due to the physiological effects
of a substance (e.g., drugs or alcohol) or a general medical
condition.
Depersonalization
Disorder refers to the experience of feeling
detached or estranged from one’s self, but with reality testing intact;
that is, you know what is happening, but you don’t feel like you’re
experiencing it yourself or don’t feel like you’re experiencing
it in your body.
|
Sometimes, symptoms
of this sort can be experienced while dreaming or while in hypnagogic
(i.e., dream-like) states such as deep hypnosis
or meditation; in such cases, dissociative symptoms will be transient and
should not cause a major disturbance to your life. |
|
Depersonalization
Disorder would not be diagnosed if the symptoms did not cause a major disturbance
to the person’s life or if they were due to the physiological
effects of a substance (e.g., drugs or alcohol) or a general medical condition,
such as mild aortic valve insufficiency (AI) or minimal coronary
artery disease (MCAD), for example. |
Dissociative
Identity
Disorder:
How
DID
Begins
|
To begin with, the entire concept of DID is controversial.
Skeptics claim that the whole thing is a product of social influence, about
as real as “hysteria” was for Freud. But skeptics, with all their
logical pragmatism, tend to make judgments as sweeping as the gullible who
will believe anything. Noting many instances of fraud and deception, the
skeptics sadly discount the real cases. DID may not be prevalent, but real cases
do occur.
|
Real cases of DID
are usually not diagnosed at all, but if they are diagnosed it is usually
only after several years of psychotherapy for other reasons. |
|
Genuine cases
of DID apparently occur as a result of severe, on-going emotional, sexual,
or physical abuse. At present, this is not a scientific fact, just a strong
guess. We also know that DID does not seem to happen as an adult response
to trauma; for example, men who have been tortured for years in POW camps
apparently do not develop DID. (Adult trauma, however, might bring out other
personalities if the adult had developed DID in childhood.) The process seems
to begin only in children. This makes sense, because childhood is the time
of life when personality in general develops in all of us.
So the best guess
is that the on-going trauma of abuse, which happens during childhood, just
when personality is developing, somehow causes alternate, distinct personalities
to form. And, unlike ego states, the alternate personalities can, and usually
do, exist completely out of awareness of the “main person” or of
each other. It is as if the alters live in isolated compartments with no
communication among them.
And this lack
of communication points to one characteristic of a genuine case of DID: fear
and embarrassment about having other personalities. In contrast, those
individuals who show up on TV talk shows, touting their “diagnosis,”
raise the most suspicion of having ulterior motives, such as a craving for
attention and money, to be seen by others as “special” and
different.
|
I will point
out here that some writers have claimed that all persons with DID
have been subjected to “Satanic ritual abuse” (SRA). In my opinion
(theological background
and all) this is nonsense.[3,4]
There are some who do formally practice satanic worship, but there are a
lot of pitifully misguided, sometimes outright perverted, adults who don’t
need the excuse of “ritual abuse” to inflict pain and suffering
on children.
But in the end,
the “truth” of any traumatic memories—whether fully conscious
all along or recovered
after the fact—doesn’t mean much in regard to psychotherapy. As
long as the main personality turns away from
perversion and self-indulgence (the very things which
define satanism in the first place) and, like a shepherd protecting the flock,
learns to embrace real love and forgiveness
as the core of life for all the alters, then there is nothing to despair—and nothing to
argue about. |
|
So, despite all
these controversial issues, it can be said simply that child abuse leaves
you with a confused mass of ordinary human
emotions. But this confusion can feel so painful
that your primary defense will be to “get away” from it all and
to turn your back on values such as love and
forgiveness. Thus you will find yourself in a living
hell with recourse to nothing but empty human solutions of
anger, bitterness, and
fear.
If, through proper
psychotherapy you have the courage to face those
emotions, tease them apart, and understand how each one affects your behavior,
then there is real hope. Otherwise you will spend
the rest of your life reacting automatically and blindly to your emotions,
blaming others and feeling
victimized by circumstances that are really of your
own making. Because, as hard as it sounds, when you turn away from true love
in the first place, it’s your choice, and yours alone. It may be a tragic
mistake, influenced by ignorance and fear—or even the social pressure
of “programming” or brainwashing—but, at its root, it’s
still your free choice. And, being a free choice, it can be remedied by your
freely turning back to what you turned away from in the first
place. |
Why
DID
Happens
|
As to why DID happens, again there are only guesses from clinical
stories. Apparently, childhood abuse is so frightening, even life-threatening,
that the main personality of the child cannot deal with it, and is so overwhelmed
that it dissociates (“spaces out”) and lets another personality
take over. We just don’t know exactly what happens in the “taking
over” part. It might begin simply as a sort of frantic daydreaming that,
in repetition, leads to a well-defined alter. But, to be honest, we don’t
even know exactly how a regular personality forms anyway. (Note that dissociation
is a completely different process than
repression.) |
Diagnostic
Problems
|
I have had DID patients cautiously ask me what a
“Borderline” is, and, on further inquiry, I have discovered that
they have been diagnosed
in the past as Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) but never knew what
it meant. I have also seen, when working in residential treatment, patients
diagnosed as Schizophrenic when, in hindsight, I believe they were more likely
DID.
Borderline
Personality Disorder applies as a descriptive
term to a person whose behavior is characterized
by:
• |
Frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined
abandonment |
• |
Unstable relationships |
• |
Unstable self-image or sense of self |
• |
Impulsivity (usually involving sexuality,
alcohol, or drugs) |
• |
Suicidal attempts,
threats, or self-mutilating behavior |
• |
Periods of emotional volatility and
instability of mood |
• |
Chronic feelings of emptiness |
• |
Self-mutilation and
self-sabotage |
• |
Frequent arguments, constant
anger, recurrent physical fights |
Schizophrenia refers to a Psychotic Disorder marked by delusions,
hallucinations, incoherent speech, and disorganized thinking, among
others.
• |
Delusions are false beliefs
about external reality that are maintained despite obvious proof or evidence
to the contrary. Some examples are beliefs that one’s thoughts are being
broadcast for others to hear; that one’s thoughts are being inserted
into one’s mind by outside forces; that one is being attacked or conspired
against by others. |
• |
Hallucinations are sensory
perceptions that seem real but that occur without stimulation of the relevant
sensory organ. (Illusions, often confused with hallucinations, are
misperceived or misinterpreted sensory perceptions. For example, shadows
may seem to take the shape of a physical form, or trickling water may seem
to be the sound of a voice.) |
In my experience,
some clinicians tend to settle on a diagnosis of BPD rather quickly when
they first hear about suicidal gestures, drug or alcohol abuse, and
self-mutilating behaviors such as cutting and burning. These symptoms, however,
also can occur as a result of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
(PTSD). Therefore, a clinician must investigate the matter
thoroughly and decide if the person being diagnosed really has the angry, manipulative,
and demanding nature so characteristic of BPD. It is my opinion that, unless the
characteristic rage of BPD is present, BPD can be a
mis-diagnosis.
Likewise, it
should be determined if the person really has the disordered thought process
and hallucinations of Schizophrenia. For example, is the person hallucinating
or is she “hearing voices” of the alters? Is there really a thought
disorder, or is she disorganized because of constant, unknown, or uncontrolled
switching between alters? It makes a big difference.
And speaking
of Posttraumatic Stress
Disorder, just as symptoms of PTSD can be confused
with BPD, so too the dissociative symptoms of PTSD must not be mistakenly
diagnosed as genuine DID. As I said above, DID is rare, while PTSD is being
diagnosed more and more these days, for an increasing variety of
reasons.
All in all, then,
a clinician who relies just on past diagnoses and superficially observed
behaviors can make a tragic mistake.
|
Remember also
that, from the patient’s perspective, some alters do not want to be
discovered and will quite happily lead the clinician as far astray down the
garden path as possible. |
|
Finally, consider
the legal
issues of diagnosis as well, for exaggeration of symptoms—and outright
fakery—should never be overlooked as an attempt to avoid responsibility
for one’s actions. |
DID
Treatment
Issues
|
The best advice I can give is first to find someone who
understands the things pointed out above. Treatment then depends on building
up enough trust in each other to speak frankly about things previously kept
secret, and to give voice to the emotional pain of your
memories.
I also have the
ground rule that all parts of the personality will be listened to and valued
equally, and that no parts will be “killed off” or
disavowed.
“The stone
the builders reject will become the corner stone of the new
creation.”
This rule applies
even to the most destructive
and frightening personality parts—for these parts are usually the ones
who bear the most pain and therefore need the most help. A threatening attitude
by one part usually serves as a defense against a
feared betrayal of trust, as in “I’ll hurt myself
before I let you close enough to hurt me.” The whole process takes courage for
both the psychotherapist and the client.
For example,
during the psychotherapeutic process you will experience many
emotions that are similar to the emotions you
felt as a child. Disappointment. Anger. Confusion. Feeling misunderstood.
Feeling devalued. Feeling abandoned. Many different events—some of them
just chance occurrences during psychotherapy (for example, a key to the restroom
not in its proper place; a session canceled because of the
psychotherapist’s illness; etc.) and some of them deliberate therapeutic
interventions by the psychotherapist (for example, a charge for a missed
session; an interpretation of a dream that touches a truth you don’t
want to hear; a calculated decision not to respond to an e-mail message;
a declined invitation to a wedding or graduation; etc.)—will trigger
these emotions.
This triggering
process is technically called
transference.
So, when you
feel an emotion in psychotherapy, the therapeutic task will be to name it
as an emotion and understand it as an emotion—not get
caught in it as if it were your helpless destiny. For if you get caught in
it, you will feel like a victim and will blame the
psychotherapist for your pain, and the entire therapeutic process will feel
like judgment and criticism. And then, in deep bitterness, you will want
to “get away” from the psychotherapy
just as you wanted to get away from the original emotions as a
child.
Fusion
Some persons
talk about “fusion” in regard to the effect of the psychotherapy
process. I really don’t know exactly what this means, and I think the
persons who use the term aren’t sure either. As I said earlier, no one
has a “singular” personality, so the best that can be hoped for
is a reasonable communication and cooperation among various parts of the
personality.
In its dynamic
sense, fusion really means nothing more than allowing your pain to diffuse
across all parts of the personality so that you are united in accepting the
pain. One of the greatest difficulties in doing psychotherapy with dissociative
states—or ordinary ego states, for that matter—is that the one
part of the personality who holds the deepest pain is usually feared by the
other parts. And in the fear, of course, comes disavowal. But only when such
a part is recognized and accepted with forgiveness
can there be any hope of real healing. |
Lessons
In
Healing
And
Hope
|
 Psychology from the
Heart
The Spiritual Depth of Clinical Psychology
A collection of
texts from the writings of
Raymond Lloyd Richmond, Ph.D.
More
information |
Gratitude
|
Has this web page been helpful? Then please help support this
website in gratitude, as a “down-payment” on the success of your
hopes and dreams!
|
Notes:
1.
Jacques Lacan, “The subversion of the subject and the dialectic of desire
in the Freudian unconscious.” In Écrits: A selection,
trans. Alan Sheridan (New York: W. W. Norton, 1977).
2,
2a. American
Psychiatric Association: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders, Fourth Edition. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association,
1994.
3. Putnam, F. W.
(1991). The Satanic ritual abuse controversy. Child Abuse and Neglect,
15, 175–179.
4. Ganaway, G. (1989).
Historical truth versus narrative truth: Clarifying the role of exogenous
trauma in the etiology of multiple personality disorder and its variants.
Dissociation, 2, 205–220.
Additional
Resources
Dissociation:
International Society for the Study of
Trauma and Dissociation
Ego States:
Ego
State Therapy features online “reprints” of articles
by John & Helen Watkins.
Lacanian
Psychoanalysis:
The Lacanian School
of Psychoanalysis in the San Francisco Bay area, offers training
in Lacanian psychoanalysis.
The San Francisco Society
for Lacanian Studies provides lectures and information about Lacanian
psychoanalysis.
Multiple
Personalities:
Adult Survivors
of Child Abuse (ACSA) is an innovative psychologically based support
group recovery program that offers workshops, peer-guided and professional-guided
support groups, and a guidebook.
DID, offers
some Catholic theological opinions about treatment for DID, along with
information about Mary Magdalene, a reputed Biblical multiple.
Mental Health
Matters provides “user-friendly, mental health information
services for everyone with an interest in mental health, mental illness,
psychology, psychiatric disorders, emotional well-being and personal
growth.” It is maintained by a DID adult survivor of childhood abuse.
Personality:
Malignant
Self Love – Narcissism Re-Visited — by Sam Vaknin, PhD,
provides a comprehensive source of free information about Narcissistic
Personality Disorder and the social effects of pathological narcissism.
Personality
and Consciousness — although oriented to selling books, this
site also has a section for information about major personality theorists.
Psychological
Assessment:
Buros
Institute —their “test reviews are evaluations of the
tests, not the actual tests themselves.”
The
Web Psychological Club has several online psychological tests available
for your entertainment. You won’t find copies of any of the standard
professional tests online, however, for two reasons: (a) because the tests
are copyrighted, and (b) because the security of the tests must be
maintained.
Schizophrenia:
Schizophrenia.com
provides “all the valuable and accurate information on the disease
schizophrenia.”
Skepticism:
Skeptic’s
Dictionary: multiple personality disorder
Skeptic’s
Dictionary: the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
Skeptic’s
Dictionary: enneagram
Trauma:
Adult Survivors
of Child Abuse (ACSA) is an innovative psychologically based support
group recovery program that offers workshops, peer-guided and professional-guided
support groups, and a guidebook.
National
Mental Health Helpline PTSD
The National Organization
on Male Sexual Victimization (NOMSV) “is dedicated to the
prevention, treatment, and elimination of male sexual victimization.”
Suicide
and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) provides information about
suicidal thinking and PTSD.
Trauma Information
Pages provides a comprehensive listing of trauma support info,
disaster info, and related mental health issues on the Internet.
For additional information concerning protecting your child from child
abuse or drug abuse, contact the following clearinghouses:
National Center for
Missing and Exploited Children
National Committee to
Prevent Child Abuse
Related pages within A Guide to Psychology
and its Practice:
Anger
Death—and the Seduction
of Despair
Depression and
Suicide
Diagnosis in Clinical
Psychology
Family Therapy
Fear
Forgiveness
Honesty
Identity and
Loneliness
Legal Issues
Posttraumatic Stress
Disorder
Psychological
Testing
Questions and Answers
about Psychotherapy
Repressed
Memories
Sex and Love
Spiritual
Healing
Spirituality and
Psychology
Terrorism and
Psychology
The Unconscious
CONTACT ME
INDEX of all subjects
on this website
SEARCH this
website |
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