Perhaps one of the positive things to come out of the Kansas v Hendricks wave of sexually violent predator (SVP) commitment laws during the past decade is… Read More
When the term “borderline” was first used in 1938 by the psychoanalyst Adolf Stern, he was defining a group of patients who were “extremely difficult to handle effectively by any psychotherapeutic method”… Read More
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People who weren't getting out of bed are getting up and doing productive things. They are re-engaging with their families, and they are focusing on... More »
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Abstract: The purpose of this study was to assess the scientific and etiological status of dissociative identity disorder (DID) by examining cases published from 2000 to 2010. In terms of scientific status, DID is a small but ongoing field of study. The review yielded 21 case studies and 80 empirical studies, presenting data on 1171 new cases of DID. A mean of 9 articles, each containing a mean o
Abstract: Dissociative identity disorder (DID), once considered rare, was frequently diagnosed during the 1980s and 1990s, after which interest declined. This is the trajectory of a medical fad. DID was based on poorly conceived theories and used potentially damaging treatment methods. The problem continues, given that the DSM-5 includes DID and accords dissociative disorders a separate chapt
A young woman hospitalized herself for a picture resembling Stockholm syndrome (becoming a willing captive in a cult, sympathetic to the leader). After a short period of time, it became clear that she had used a false identity and
Psychiatric Services VOL 63 No 7. PSS. Articles | July 01, 2012 . Portrayals of Schizophrenia by Entertainment Media: A Content Analysis of Contemporary Movies. Patricia R. Owen, Ph.D. Psychiatric Services 2012; doi:
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21391104 2011 03 10 2011 07 26 1529-9740 12 2 J Trauma Dissociation 188-212 10.1080/15299732.2011.537248 info@isst-d.org International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation eng Journal Article Practice Guideline England J Trauma
Eleven women with dissociativeidentity disorder (DID) participated in an experiment that included a variety of memory measures. DID participants were faster than a group of 13 female students at producing autobiographical memories in response to cue words. DID participants had difficulty answering detailed questions about a story containing fear compared with a neutral story; the student group did not. The DID group reported experiencing significantly more childhood trauma than did the student group. Effect sizes were moderate to high. This preliminary study uses a broad conceptualization of memory functioning, combining ecologically valid testing with experimental paradigms and addressing the impact of emotion on memory in trauma survivors.
Dissociative trance disorder, which includes possession experiences, was introduced as a provisional diagnosis requiring further study in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.). Consideration is now being given to including possession experiences within dissociativeidentity disorder (DID) in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.), which is due to be published in 2013. In order to provide empirical data relevant to the relationship between DID and possession states, I analyzed data on the prevalence of trance, possession states, sleepwalking, and paranormal experiences in 3 large samples: patients with DID from North America; psychiatric outpatients from Shanghai, China; and a general population sample from Winnipeg, Canada. Trance, sleepwalking, paranormal, and possession experiences were much more common in the DID patients than in the 2 comparison samples. The study is preliminary and exploratory in nature because the
The history of hypnosis is closely linked to the theme of possession; one such link is that the forerunner of hypnosis, animal magnetism, replaced exorcism in 1775 when Franz Anton Mesmer testified against Father Johann Joseph Gassner's exorcism. Modern authors have noted remarkable similarities between states of possession and dissociation. The treatment of possession by animal magnetism and exorcism represents the special romantic-magnetic therapy of the German medical doctor Justinus Kerner in the early 19th century. This article describes the man, his methods, and his thinking and presents one of his most famous case studies, the girl from Orlach, which, by today's standards, was a true case of dissociativeidentity disorder (DID). This article describes how contemporary principles of treatment were used and controversial issues about the nature and causes of DID were discussed 175 years ago.
Persons with dissociativeidentity disorder (DID) often present in the criminal justice system rather than the mental health system and perplex experts in both professions. DID is a controversial diagnosis with important medicolegal implications. Defendants have claimed that they committed serious crimes, including rape or murder, while they were in a dissociated state. Asserting that their alter personality committed the bad act, defendants have pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI). In such instances, forensic experts are asked to assess the defendant for DID and provide testimony in court. Debate continues over whether DID truly exists, whether expert testimony should be allowed into evidence, and whether it should exculpate defendants for their criminal acts. This article reviews historical and theoretical perspectives on DID, presents cases that illustrate the legal implications and controversies of raising an insanity defense based on multiple personalities, and
Primary Care Can't Thrive Without Nurse Practitioners Courtney H. Lyder, ND, May 17, 2013 With a projected shortfall of primary-care physicians, it's time for alternate solutions to patient care. Nurse practitioners are one logical remedy.